Athe46yhneo magazine issue 138 2015 by kidsandteensma

ANIME ASIAN FILM MANGA MUSIC

n 日本人になること

Turning Japanese

www.neomag.co.uk

NARUTO / GODZILLA / YOSUKE FUJITA INTERVIEWED / COSPLAY / PATLABOR / SAMURAI BRIDE / K-ON!! / BLEACH / POSTERS / MCM COMIC CON REPORT + MORE!

SCANDAL ON TOUR

NEO AND THE BAND TAKE ON LONDON! PREVIEWED FOOD WARS!

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REVIEWED

ONE PIECE FILM: Z

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関係者専用

Batch 138

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LABORATORY n 日本人になること Turning

MADE IN UK Japanese

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Editorial

fAvOuriTEs AT THE EXPO...

WELCOME TO issuE 138 of NEO! Another May over, and another recordbreaking MCM Comic Con complete! Twice a year, every year, the organisers behind this event blow us away with incredible special guests and exciting activities, but it’s really you guys that make the weekend so special! We love seeing familiar faces popping by to renew their subscriptions, and new readers who haven’t even heard of the magazine signing up! (Hello, new people! Which rock have you been hiding under?!)

the best part of the MCM Comic Con was seeing all the amazing artwork entered for our competition!

This May we expanded our NEO Art Competition to include online submissions as well for the first time, giving us four overall winners. You’ll have to pick up issue 139 to see the pictures in all their glory, but trust us when we say that the competition was stiff! We also opened a brand new cosplay competition for the first time in collaboration with Alastair Bell Photography (www.alastairbellphotography.co.uk). using the hashtag #NEOcos, scores of cosplayers entered for the chance to win an incredible photoshoot with Alastair at his studio – look out for the photos in an upcoming issue of the magazine! There’s another part of the Expo that gets our hearts aflutter here at NEO, and that’s the new anime announcements. This year we had so many new titles to share with you that we barely had room to write them all down! Go to page 014 for some of the details on these upcoming releases, and remember that we have a regular release schedule on page 022 every issue, which charts new anime, manga and Asian movies for the uK.

Cosplayers everywhere. Was this the most impressive costume of the weekend? Possibly!

But you know, there’s more to life than the Expo. No, really. That’s what they told me when i said © Juliette Crawford

i’d rather have an extended nap to recover than finish off the mag this month. No rest for the wicked – or the anime magazine editor! so while you’ve been relaxing post-convention, i’ve been putting the finishing touches on some awesome content, and luckily for you, it’s all in your hands right now! The most exciting part of the mag has to be our cover girls this issue, the awesome foursome from sCANDAL! This is our first ever main cover for a musical act in our decade long history, so here’s hoping you all think it’s as fantastic as i do! Head on over to 008 for our in-depth interview with the band, and check out our exclusive posters at the back of the magazine.

She may not have anything to do with anime, but Gillian Anderson sure is a fine woman.

until next time!

Gemma Cox, editor

MEET THE TEAM JACOB BONifACE

dAvid wEsT

“this month, i’ve been getting psyched up over the latest episodes of Kuroko’s Basketball, which is nearing the end of its third – and final – season! Well, that and watching the Digimon Adventure Tri trailer repeatedly while openly weeping.”

“Had a moment this month when i realised i hadn’t heard Gangnam Style for ages. So i played it on Youtube. Funny thing is, the first time i saw the video, i thought, ‘this is great, probably won’t be a hit, though’. Nostradamus i am not.”

AdriENNE lAw

TOM sMiTH

“this month i’ve been settling into my new job in the games industry, so treated myself to the 3dS XL (which was purely for business reasons, of course). Somehow life is better when you can play Bravely Default and Ocarina of Time on the morning commute!”

“i’m back from going on tour with PASSePied, moumoon and Yosi Horikawa! it was crazy to say the least! Yosi performed to a soldout crowd in a church using sounds he recorded on Brighton beach and in a forest in Germany – it was out of this world!”

NEXT MONTH

Space Dandy is back, and it’s crazier than ever. We plot the star charts of the wackiest space opera to come from Japan in our bumper feature next issue! Also, make sure you check out the results of the Neo Art Competition, and marvel in the wonderful talent of our awesome readership. All that, plus new anime from Japan, manga, reviews, interviews, cosplay, tutorials and more! NEO 139, OUT THURSDAY 9 JULY

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Contents

PAGE

008

FEATURES 008 QUITE THE SCANDAL Thanks to our unprecedented access to the J-pop group, NEO presents a very British day out, featuring the girls of SCANDAL let loose in London!

050 GODZILLA RETURNS!

POSTERS PAGE

060

Head to the back of this issue for some cool posters: SCANDAL, Seraph Of The End, Plastic Memories, One Piece Film: Z, and The Ambition Of Oda Nobuna

The city-destroying kaiju is unleashed once more by Bandai Namco. Run for the hills

052 MAN UP, FUKU-CHAN Miyuki Oshima: comedienne, TV personality, and would-be man in Yosuke Fujita’s Fuku-Chan of Fukufuku Flats. David West interviews the director behind this gender bending movie

056 MCM COMIC CON Read NEO’s essential report on the most important date in the otaku calendar

060 ANIME’S RETRO ARMY Andrew Osmond charts the rise of the golden oldies, and does a little digging to uncover the secret behind the popularity of these titles

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Contents

GET TWO ISSUES FREE WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE. SEE PAGE 088 FOR DETAILS.

PAGE

034 ANiMe eXPose Artist showcAse PAGE

044

PAGE

038 cosPLAY stAr sPeciAL YokohAMA chukAgAi PAGE

036

PAGE

030 ANiMe eXPose

LifEstyLE

REGULARs

036 YOKOHAMA’S CHINATOWN 038 COSPLAY STAR SPECIAL 040 COSPLAY CORNER 042 MANGA SCHOOL 044 ARTIST SHOWCASE 046 STUFF 048 LETTERS

003 Meet the Neo teAM

086 the VAuLt

Find out more about the people behind

We take a look at Kazuaki Kiriya’s classic

this issue of the magazine

epic fantasy Goemon

014 News Network

087 reADer reView

Events, new releases, music charts, gigs,

This month our fan reviewer writes A

premieres and more: all the latest from

Letter to Momo

the world of Asian entertainment

088 suBscriPtioNs

022 reLeAse Lists

Get two free issues when you sign up for a

Up to date information about new anime,

12 issue subscription for NEO

manga and Asian film releases

091 coMPetitioN

064 MANgA

Nab yourself some incredible Chameleon

A murder mystery by Morag Lewis

Pens worth nearly £90!

NEW iN JAPAN 025 PROFILE 026 MANGA SNAPSHOT 030 FOOD WARS! 034 PLASTIC MEMORIES

REViEWs stARt ON PAGE 71

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NEO gives Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most powerful girl rock group a tour of London following their first sold out UK show!

SCANDAL

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As Phil Collins sang, “I can feel it, fighting in the air tonight, ooh Lord!” Close enough, right?

“NO!” cries HARUNA, causing us to choke on our half-chewed sweet and sour chicken. We’ve only just begun our casual interview with the hugely popular band, taking place in a swanky restaurant in London’s China Town (their choice), and we’ve already hit a nerve. It turns out that if you ever want to get into SCANDAL’s good books, it’s probably best to avoid making fun of Harry Styles and his chums in One Direction – HARUNA shot our interviewer down within seconds of suggesting that the British boy band may not be the hippest Brit music export of recent years. “One Direction are incredibly cool! Idol music in this country [the UK] is so cool, stylish and great! In Japan, we have so many idol groups, but often they are not allowed the same level of creativity as One Direction! “I can’t imagine a big Japanese group such as AKB48, or whoever, being allowed to write their own lyrics like 1D has done,” she added, passionately. “You don’t know how refreshing that is. I have so much respect for the way British pop music industry is run.”

“Coming to the UK is like a dream come true. The United Kingdom has produced so many iconic bands and artists that have shaped modern music. It’s thrilling to be able to perform here.” RINA

The SCANDAL ladies are no strangers to Japan’s pop world. With HARUNA taking care of main vocals and guitar, TOMOMI on bass, MAMI rocking lead guitar and RINA beating the drums, SCANDAL emerged on the scene at a time when there was a gap in the market. Idol music had taken an all-new high with the arrival of AKB48 bringing the scene back stronger than ever before. As a result, Japan was missing an all-girl group in its charts that were capable of reaching the dizzying heights of commercial success, while also writing their own material and playing their own instruments. In the space of a few years, SCANDAL managed to establish themselves as one of the biggest bands in Japan, and one of the country’s most popular artists overseas according to NHK World and various other online polls. They even managed to spark an increase in the sale of instruments to teenage girls. To top it all, soon after their debut, a new anime known as K-On! was about to hit screens in Japan, telling the tale of a group of school girls trying to make a band. SCANDAL looked like a real life version of its cast, right down to the school uniforms and all! Over here, iTunes labels the fabulous foursome as making “the most powerful Japanese girlie pop rock” in the industry, and we

think they may be right. The group are also the latest artist to sign to London’s JPU Records, who released their sixth studio album HELLO WORLD at the start of the year. Last month also saw the release of UK only album GREATEST HITS, which ended up being so successful that it actually sold out ahead of release date!

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SCANDAL

HARUNA: Japan’s definitive figure for girl power.

HIT IN THE USA Despite being formed in Osaka in 2006, SCANDAL’s very first concert took place some 6,500 miles away at Texas’ South By South West Festival, and was then quickly followed by a US tour of six cities. The band would play every track they’d made, which so far amounted to three singles knocked out on a local Osaka indie label, and filled in any gaps with a special pre-recorded video featuring the girls illustrated as super cute anime characters. “Yes! Our first gig was in America! I was petrified!” squeaked guitarist TOMOMI. “We practiced English over and over – we couldn’t understand what we were actually saying, we just tried to memorise the English sounds phonetically, ha ha. It was really hard! So we cheated a little bit

HELLO WORLD The name of SCANDAL’s sixth album couldn’t be any more suitable. It was the release that had them quite literally saying “hello!” to the entire world for the first time in their career, thanks to the world tour and international release. It was also the first time for each member of the band to have their own unique song in the tracklist, which they had not only written, but also sung the main vocals for, offering a whole new level to SCANDAL that hadn’t been explored before.

in Paris and Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong before the likes of music giant Sony snapped them up and unleashed their very first major label single Doll, which happened to rank in at number five in the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. It’s also the opening track of GREATEST HITS. By the time of their third single, Shojo S, the band were ranking in the top ten of the official singles chart – not least because the track was used as Bleach’s tenth opening theme. They had even netted their first award, becoming Rookie of the Year. They were nominated in the Best New Artist category too, but narrowly missed out to Korean powerhouse BIGBANG. At the time of writing, they’ve released an impressive 20 singles under Sony, and all but three have managed to get into the top ten of the charts.

by having the animation speak the majority of English for us. But that show gave us confidence; if we can play to a completely foreign audience, then we can play back home in Japan without a problem too!” After playing in America, the girls went on to

perform on stage to 10,000 people at Japan Expo

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The SCANDAL girls backstage, ready to take on the world!

Some of their most successful have been related to anime, including another Bleach theme (its final one: Harukaze), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood track Shunkan Sentimental, and themes from Loups=Garous, Star Driver, and the ending song from latest Pokémon film Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, which is included on SCANDAL’s newest album HELLO WORLD.

HELLO WORLD In Japan, SCANDAL have reached a level where they can conduct sold out arena tours, and 2015 sees the first time they’ve elevated to a state where they can do a proper, full world tour. This is the reason we’re in London, quarrelling about One Direction. The band has just completed their first very first UK show, and it was a huge success. Not

“I didn’t just go art shopping! Me and RINA found a cute record shop, so we went hunting to find our latest album HELLO WORLD inside. We asked staff if it was in stock, and they recognised us!”

only was it their first European date to sell out in advance – a very rare feat for Japanese music, where France usually takes the lead – it was also their second date to sell out in their entire world tour! So give yourself a much-deserved pat on the back if you helped make that happen, as it surprised staff as much as it surprised the group’s members. “I am so excited to be in London! And even more thrilled that the show sold out so quickly!” commented drummer RINA from behind a cup of Jasmine tea. “Coming to the UK is like a dream come true. The United Kingdom has produced so many iconic bands and artists that have shaped modern music. It’s thrilling to be able to perform here.” We’d spent a day with the band in London, showing them around the sights in exchange for unprecedented access for our interview (a fair trade, say we!). In advance, we drafted a list of places to visit and awaited a reply to see which ones the band wanted to go to in their limited spare time. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be on tour, remove the MTV image of endless champagne, parties and smashed up hotel rooms, and replace it with huffy van drivers struggling

TOMOMI

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SCANDAL “All hail the bag of cookies!”

to find parking spaces, fuming tour managers trying to keep to strict time schedules, and plenty of rushing around. The day of SCANDAL’s London gig saw them arrive straight from Paris, soundcheck, meet the fans with VIP tickets and then quickly nosh down a few backstage sarnies before hitting the stage. The following day, the one we spent with them, was even busier: interviews (including the Huffington Post), photoshoots, food, sightseeing, food,

“Our first gig was in America! I was petrified!”

WHAT’S THE STORY

TOMOMI

a staff member or two.

SCANDAL skimmed past all the famous tourist hot spots we had listed and instead insisted we hit two places in particular before the day is over. First, obviously, Abbey Road. The band and all their crew squealed with delight when the tour bus pulled up opposite the iconic recording studio. We think there may have even been the odd tear shed from After the ladies had captured a snap of them

photoshoots, food and planning the artwork for

walking across the famous zebra crossing, and

their upcoming single.

miraculously managing to not get hit by a white

Oh, and did we mention that this was their

van man, TOMOMI turned to us and said “It was

“day off”? We didn’t see a single moment when

really great to visit, but… I never imagined it would

the women weren’t in work mode – even when

be so dangerous! Tourists who can get a photo

shopping they were being followed by a swarm

there must have nerves of steel!”

of cameras.

Wow, that’s a low blow there, sir. Keep ‘em up and keep it clean!

MAMI joined in, “So many cars were hitting their horns, I felt a little embarrassed actually… I could sense they were making fun of us! Sorry for getting in the way of your journey, London drivers!” The second place on the list was Soho’s Berwick Street, otherwise known to music fans as the location for Oasis’ famous (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? album cover. This time, upon arriving, the band and crew were much more quiet, until we reached the exact spot of the iconic CD artwork, then suddenly everyone was jumping

around in excitement and queuing up to recreate their own personal version of the jacket design. Afterwards we hit a local café for some lunch, where, oddly, the band started to interview their

SCANDAL with BABYMETAL composer Takeshi Tokunaga in London.

UK label owner, Tom Smith of JPU Records. “I want to know why you chose those specific tracks for GREATEST HITS,” asked RINA. The

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outside of Japan, and is only available from their UK label. It turns out the album’s 15 tracks were partly selected by fans on JPU Records’ social media, and partly by Tom himself. “Of course we had to include all your songs from anime on it,” Tom said. “I think fans would’ve lynched us had they not been included. But for me personally, I really wanted Queens are trumps on there, it’s like an amazingly fun throwback to glam rock and hairmetal era bands. The first time I heard it, I instantly fell in love with SCANDAL!” “Oh, does it mean you think heavy songs are best?” inquisitively asks RINA. “No, and I don’t think a heavy song would particularly suit your style… but that track feels like an American tune that’s had a modern Japanese makeover, it’s really quite charming to listen to, and very pop.” “Oh, good! Then you’ll love our upcoming single!” chirps TOMOMI. “It’s got a very American pop-punk feel to it – it’s happy, simple, and I think it sounds a like a summer’s day.” What single is that, you may ask? Well, for the time being, it’s a secret! After lunch, the band had a whole 30 minutes to themselves to shop around Soho before

GREATEST HITS The UK exclusive album features 15 tracks handpicked from SCANDAL’s back catalogue, including all of their songs featured in anime. Despite its exclusivity, for one day during the May bank holiday, the album managed to find itself listed on Amazon Japan for a brief 12 hours. In that time, Japanese SCANDAL fans had not only managed to find it, they’d managed to buy so many copies that the JPU Records release became the number one selling album on the site! The mistake was soon rectified, much to the annoyance of slower Japanese fans who didn’t managed to secure a copy.

After the time was up and we had regrouped, we found an excited TOMOMI and RINA. “I didn’t just go art shopping! Me and RINA found a cute record shop, so we went hunting to find our latest album HELLO WORLD inside. We asked staff if it was in stock, and they recognised us! They said they wanted to go to our gig, but it sold out too fast! I was really happy and surprised! Store staff in London know about us, I can die happy! Kya!” “Some fans from the gig also found us, they were really sweet!” said MAMI. “I asked them what they thought about our new CD but their answer shocked me – they said they hadn’t listened to it yet! I thought that was funny!” Funny indeed! You can now listen to SCANDAL’s latest album HELLO WORLD on CD (including a bonus booklet with lyrics translated into English and Romaji) and MP3 easily within the UK through JPU Records. SCANDAL’s GREATEST HITS is also available now, only on CD. © Yannick Lalardy

album is the group’s first to be released exclusively

returning to the bus. TOMOMI instantly homed in on a local art supply shop, and remained there for pretty much the rest of the time. RINA went shopping for vintage clothes and tried to justify parting with her pocket money for a pair of shiny neon pink Dr. Martens, while MAMI and HARUNA snooped around the Liberty department store.

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NEWS

Expo Anime Explosion we’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat Now the dust has settled from the MCM London Comic Con, it’s time to share the horde of anime titles that were announced over the weekend. New kids on the block Animatsu revealed their acquisition of Triage X (sexy nurses fighting bad guys), Black Bullet (sci fi action), Golden Time (college romance), A Certain Scientific Railgun (high school girls with superpowers), A Certain Magical Index (high school girl with magical powers), Parasyte – The Maxim (body horror), and an August release for Knights Of Sidonia (mecha action) on dVd and Blu-ray. Manga entertainment will release the three Puella Magi

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, featuring the big rematch between Goku and Frieza. Anime Ltd has snagged Sword Art Online II, hopefully out in August, Durarara!!x2 and Aldnoah.Zero (mecha show about a war between earth and Mars), while August will also see the release of the fantasy adventure Fusé: Memoirs Of A Huntress. MVM has a host of new titles. Amnesia (girl has amnesia and lots of hot guys after her, based on an otome game) is confirmed for a dVd / Blu-ray release on 6 July. 27 July will see the arrival of Love Live! (school girls form an idol group) on dVd. Fans who want the series on Blu-ray will have to sit tight for 2016. Part one of Captain

in July, followed by Rebellion in september. they’ve also acquired

Madoka Magica feature films starting with Beginnings and Eternal

Earth (teens in mecha fight aliens) will be out on 13 July, followed by part two on 14 september on dVd and Blu-ray, but only with subtitles. Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse (mecha, romance and the horror of war) will be released in two instalments on 24 August and 19 october. MVM has snagged the tV series Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, as the holy Grail wars continue, and then a massive haul of new acquisitions mainly for 2016 – Busou Shinki; Flowers of Evil; Hidamari Sketch; Kampfer; Kill Me Baby; Love, Election & Chocolate; Maid-Sama!; Nyan Koi!; Outbreak Company; Photo Kano; Re-Kan!; Rosen Maiden-Zuruckspulen; Samurai Harem; Sasami-san@Ganbaranai; and So I Can’t Play H. wow! Make sure you check upcoming issues for more on these titles.

WORDS BY DaviD WESt Stacey Rebecca was on hand on the NEO stand at the weekend, see page 058 for more!

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MaRk yOuR calENdaRS!

MCM Comic Con DatE: 25-26 July LOCatiON: Manchester

Ready to start it all over again for Manchester? Steel yourselves, Mancunian anime fans – and get ready for an awesome event in July that will include a preview of Avengers: Age of Ultron, special guest star Maile Flanagan (voice of Naruto), plus Sylvester Mccoy! check out http://www.mcmcomiccon.com/manchester for all of the info about the event, and to book tickets in advance (highly recommended!).

Kitacon 2015 DatE: 31 July – 2 august LOCatiON: Birmingham

Tickets are all sold out and the waiting list is rammed – kitacon 2015 looks like a massive success, and it hasn’t even opened yet! This is the first ever summer convention for kitacon, the uk’s largest residential anime con. Head on over to www.kitacon.org to find out what you’re missing out on! and, if you go – remember, pictures please!

Yorkshire Cosplay Con DatE: 8 august LOCatiON: doncaster

The yorkshire cosplay con is scheduled for this summer, and promises an awesome time for just £7 per adult ticket. Head to http://www. yorkshirecosplaycon.co.uk to find out more about their panels, contests, stalls, special guests, and the venue! cosplayer awesomeness on display on the convention floor!

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To send NEO a tip about an upcoming event, big or small, please email us at mail@neomag.co.uk with the subject header ‘Events’.

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Coming up

SALUTE! SUN YAT-SEN RELEASE DATE: 27 July

DISTRIBUTOR: Facet Film Distribution Lefty (Zhan Huai-Yun) claims to be the poorest high school student in all Taipei. In urgent need of the money to pay his tuition fees, he decides to steal a bronze statue of Sun Yat-Sen from school and sell it for scrap metal. Unfortunately another equally broke student, Sky (Wei Han-Ting), has the same idea. And so the race is on. Yee Chih-Yen’s comedy won Best Screenplay at the Taipei Film Awards, mixing gags and social commentary about Taiwan’s inequality.

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BABYMETAL’S UK ALBUM The Fox God has heeded your cries, and now the album that

new release loaded with extras

But wait – there’s more! The physical album also comes bundled

sparked the “Metal Resistance” has been granted a special UK release

with an extra dVd packing in six of BABYMeTAL’s official music

courtesy of earMUSIC! Yes, that genre-bending debut album from

videos. however, if it’s digital media you crave, footage from the

BABYMeTAL has finally been given the local release it deserves – and

girls’ show at Budokan is also available in full on iTunes.

it comes loaded with extras! The album boasts two exclusive bonus

To celebrate the release, there are also limited edition album

tracks; new track Road of Resistance, featuring hyperactive guitarists

bundles available which include either a T-shirt, mug, hoody or all

herman Li and Sam Totman of DragonForce fame; and a live

three, along with additional BABYMeTAL branded vests, shirts and

recording of their single Gimme Chocolate, taken from their sold out

sweatshirts. Visit the group’s homepage for further information.

5,000 capacity show at London’s Brixton Academy last year. Both tracks are featured on the Cd and newly released digital album.

BABYMeTAL will also be appearing at Reading Festival on 29 August and Leeds Festival the following day.

ANGELA

MAN WITH A MISSION dAnCInG Teen IdoLS not your thing? how about punk rocking wolves? Yes? Perfect! Quite possibly the world’s best canis lupus-inspired band is about to hit the UK after rising to fame in their homeland of Japan. named MAn WITh A MISSIon, the group features five members who wear ridiculously large wolf heads, and combine electronic and rock genres together marvellously. They’ll be making their first British appearance at the download Festival, while on tour around europe as the support act on Chicago’s melodic hardcore group Rise Against. Speaking of bands and animal heads, funk rockers Zebrahead have also unleashed a Japanonly split eP with MAn WITh A MISSIon. So far, no news of an international release, but cross your fingers! Until then, their Welcome to the Newworld eP is available now on iTunes, and there are also official music videos from the band on YouTube.

High-energy, anime-pop duo Angela have just unleashed their first European album via Gan-Shin Records, entitled ONE WAY. Since forming in 1993, the twosome have managed to squeeze their music into more than 20 anime titles, and ONE WAY increases that number with tracks used in Fafner EXODUS, Knights of Sidonia and the animated film K: Missing Kings. The unit’s YouTube channel is now open internationally, go have a listen: youtube.com/angelaofficialch.

TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA

UPCOMING GIGS Date banD 11-29 Jun 12 Jun 13 Jun 7 Jul 10 Jul 11 Jul 13 Jul 29 Aug 30 Aug 5-31 oct 19 oct 06 nov 7 nov 22 nov

LOCatIOn

electric eel Shock Various Area 11 Bristol Generations London The Bawdies London JAPAn nIGhT London JAPAn nIGhT London Tokyo Ska Paradise orchestra London BABYMeTAL Reading BABYMeTAL Leeds heLLo KITTY LIVe Various RAdWIMPS London Mono London Mono Leeds Gem Tang London

Japan’s biggest ska collective will make a rare UK stop during their European tour this July! On the 13th they will play a oneoff show at the The Jazz Café in London, amongst several reggae and jazz festivals outside of Japan. Recently the group’s crazy style has seen them collaborate with several big names, including Asian Kung-fu Generation, 10FEET and MONGOL800. www.neomag.co.uk 017

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White Box Jonathan Clements on anime’s wage crisis

One Of the big hits of recent anime seasons has been Shirobako (literally ‘White Box’), a show that shoe-horns an off-the-peg cast of perky graduates like refugees from K-On into the heady world of anime production. Shirobako is a workplace drama, but also a knowing parody of life in the anime industry, often with recognisable caricatures of well-known figures, and depictions, just the right side of actionable, of notorious incidents from business legend. Shirobako successfully conveys the awful daily grind of working on Japanese animation. entire scenes crawl past of people in messy, cluttered offices shouting each other about file numbers and storyboard pages, and losing the plot about frame counts. Despite occasional cutaways to the flights of fantasy they are working on, life in the fictional “Musashino Animation” company is largely seen to be a dull and stressful slog, with little obvious reward. there is much of interest about the division of skills on anime productions. Artists go in at the bottom, but have a chance of getting swiftly promoted. Computer geeks get to faff with CG, but have to fight against unrealistic expectations of their technology. And the wannabe voice-actress is soon waiting tables at a restaurant… Ironically, in the real world, she’d be the one on the highest wages. A study published last month by the Japan Animation Creators Association (JaniCA) claimed that the mean entry-level salary for new animators is (and has been since at least 2009) just £6,000 a year, with an average working day of 11 hours.

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Inbetweeners in Japan are competing directly with Chinese labourers who are submitting comparable work across the internet from a place with lower costs of living. If they don’t prove themselves worthwhile, they remain stuck on paupers’ wages, which have not gone up in five years. Put another way, the people who make your favourite anime can start on salaries as low as 65p an hour. One wonders how the real-world versions of the breathless, gamine girls in Shirobako would come across if they couldn’t afford soap powder or, well, soap. It’s difficult to imagine these conditions lasting for much longer before there simply aren’t any Japanese animators in Japanese animation. Which means more producers and directors coming in sideways from other professions, not up through the ranks, and commanding a staff in a foreign country through Skype and shouting. has anime, which always was regarded as a cheap option in the first place, successfully priced itself out of its own market?

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Revolutionary J-pop Tom Smith gets the lowdown on the latest music releases found in week 21 of Japan’s official Oricon album chart! Buckle-up muSic fanS; you’re in for the ride of your life, because

as to which album number this was). iTunes uk has yet to list any of the

this week’s chart is rammed with new releases that (for once!) are

group’s Japanese releases, however, their entire korean discography

destined for these shores in one form or another.

is available, including their fifth album over there, I Will, which was

first up is T.m.Revolution, who may just be the personification of J-pop. He’s a legend who has not only stood the test of time, releasing

released earlier this year. next new entry on the chart comes from one of Japan’s most

hit after hit since the ‘90s, he also hasn’t aged a bit in the process! This

travelled idol units; paSSpO, whose name derives from the word

week sees the star mark his return with his tenth studio album, simply

“passport”. The group is themed around the concept of travel, with

named TEN, which coincidently received a european release too on cD

members being referred to as “crew”, fans as “passengers” and their

and digital platforms via Gan-Shin Records at the start of the month.

events known as “flights”. The theme goes much further than just

TEN features 17 high-tempo tracks, almost half of which have had

quirky nouns – paSSpO have also pushed boundaries with their tour

a tie-in in one form or another. Two tracks find their way into the anime

schedules, performing in more Japanese cities last year than any other

film Sengoku BASARA: The Last Party, another in the franchise’s fourth

act. Their latest album Beef or Chicken? is available now for digital

game, subtitled Sumeragi, and a further two in marvel / anime mashup

download and streaming, but unfortunately lacks a vegetarian option.

Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, amongst others. korean pop-rock group fTiSlanD follow T.m.Revolution, with their fifth album in Japan, entitled 5…..GO (‘Go’ means ‘five’ in Japanese, just in case the big fat number 5 on the cover wasn’t a big enough clue

Japanese Charts

Source: © Oricon

NO. ARTIST 01

A.B.C-Z

T.M.Revolution

FTISLAND

Shogo Hamada

PASSPO

Various Artists

Southern All Stars

Chatmonchy

Sambomaster

amazarashi

TITLE A.B.Sea Market TEN 5…..GO Journey of a Songwriter Beef or Chicken? Wild Speed: Sky Mission OST Budou Kyoumei Sambomaster to Kimi amazarashi Senbun no Ichiya

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UK release schedule DATE TITLE

ANIME DATE TITLE 15/06 15/06 15/06 22/06 22/06 29/06 29/06 29/06 29/06 06/07 06/07 06/07 13/07 20/07 20/07 27/07 27/07

DISTRIBUTOR

One Piece Collection 10 Super Sonico Collection (DVD / Blu-ray) Bleach 15:1 Familiar of Zero 3 Collection (DVD / Blu-ray) Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water Patlabor Mobile Police OVA Series 2 collection Tiger & Bunny: The Rising (DVD / Blu-ray combi) RWBY Vol. 1 Bleach 15:2 Samurai Bride Complete (DVD / Blu-ray) Amnesia Collection (DVD / Blu-ray) Naruto Shippuden 21 Captain Earth Part 1 (DVD / Blu-ray) Nisekoi False Love 1:1 A Lull In The Sea Complete Collectors’ (Blu-ray) Elfen Lied (Blu-ray) Love Live! School Idol Project Complete Collectors’

Manga MVM Manga MVM Animatsu MVM Anime Ltd Animatsu Manga Manga MVM Manga MVM Manga MVM 101 Films MVM

18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 25/06 25/06 25/06 30/06 30/06 30/06 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07 02/07

DISTRIBUTOR

Seraph of the End 5 Tokyo Ghoul 1 Toriko 28 New Lone Wolf & Cub 5 The Science of Attack on Titan xxxHolic Omnibus 6 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin Let’s Dance a Waltz 2 Noragami 5 Your Lie In April 2 Usagi Yojimbo 29: 200 Jizzo Maria the Virgin Witch 3 Witchcraft Works 5 Arata 22 Deadman Wonderland 9 Dogs 10 Food Wars 5 Gene Mapper Kamisama Kiss 18 Kimi ni Todoke 21 Master Keaton 3 Natsume’s Book of Friends 18 Pokémon Adventures XY 3 So Cute it Hurts! 1

VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media Dark Horse Kodansha Kodansha Vertical Kodansha Kodansha Kodansha Dark Horse Kodansha Vertical VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media

ASIAN FILM DATE TITLE

MANGA DATE TITLE 11/06 11/06 11/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06 18/06

Tony Takezaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion Usagi Yojimbo Saga 3 Say I Love You 8 Assassination Classroom 4 Blue Exorcist 13 Dragonball 3-in-1 Edition 9 Magi 12 Naruto 70 One Piece 3-in-1 Edition 12 Ranma 1/2 2-in-1 Edition 8

DISTRIBUTOR Dark Horse Dark Horse Kodansha VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media VIZ Media

15/06 15/06 15/06 22/06 22/06 26/06 29/06 29/06 29/06 06/07 06/07 06/07 13/07 13/07 17/07 20/07 27/07 31/08 TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC

The Dragon’s Snake Fist Ironheart Tokyo Tribe The Happiness Of The Katakuris World Of Kanako Concrete Clouds Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter Last Knights Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky Exit Roaring Currents When Taekwondo Strikes Fuku-chan Of FukuFuku Flats Slaughter In San Francisco Dragon Inn The Fighter Pilot Salute! Sun Yat-Sen Au Revoir L’Ete High Kickers On The Job Four Moods Still The Water A Snake Of June Hana-bi

DISTRIBUTOR

Terracotta 101 Films Eureka Arrow Films Third Window Day For Night Soda Pictures Signature Entertainment Mediumrare Facet Film Distribution Studio Canal Mediumrare Third Window Mediumrare Eureka Kaleidoscope Facet Film Distribution Day For Night MVM Entertainment One Eureka Soda Pictures Third Window Third Window

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Untitled-24 1

28/05/2015 13:38

Sprukits

Elfen Lied

The blood-soaked classic comes to Blu-ray WhEN CoUSINS KoUTA and Yuka find a naked

From the creators of the Gundam clip kits, Bandai’s Sprukits are snap together action figures that don’t use glue. There are characters from HALO, Pokémon, and DC Comics including Batman and Superman. Sprukits come in three difficulty levels from Level 1 (up to 40 pieces) to the demanding Level 3 like HALO’s Master Chief (160 pieces!), and are out now.

Saint Seiya: Soldier’s Soul

Shiny heroes locked in mighty battle Masami Kurumada’s fantasy manga Saint Seiya debuted in 1986 and took Japanese fans by storm. The premise involves a group of warriors, called Saints, fighting in the service of the goddess

girl by the sea who seems lost and is unable to

Athena. With their magical armour powered by

say anything more than “Nyu”, they take her in

the mystical energy called Cosmo, they heroically

and look after her. But what they don’t know is

defend the Earth. It was adapted into an anime

that the girl they call Nyu is a telekinetic killing

and was a smash hit in Europe, but for reasons

machine who escaped from her handlers in an

unknown it was very slow to reach the UK.

orgy of bloodshed and severed limbs. And they

The manga belatedly arrived in 2003 and

want her back. At any cost. Elfen Lied is one of the most notorious series in the anime canon, largely due to its very graphic violence, but its combination of science fiction and horror have made it a fan favourite ever since it first debuted in 2004. Now the series is coming to Blu-ray for the first time from 101 Anime in a new edition that will include a 36-page booklet and the bonus oVA all wrapped up in a special metal case. Elfen Lied will be out on 27 July and the blood will flow.

two of the previous video games based on the

Life’s A Rodeo Woken from 1000 years of slumber, the robot warrior Rodeo must take to the skies once more to protect the land of Garuda from their ancient enemies of the Naga Empire. Rodeo The Sky Soldier is a new Japanese adventure game coming to the Nintendo Wii and 3DS this fall courtesy of NIS America Inc.

franchise – Saint Seiya: Sanctuary Battle and Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers – were released here on the PlayStation 3. Now Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced that Saint Seiya: Soldier’s Soul is heading for our shores, destined for the PS4, PS3 and PC later this year. The new fighting game is based on Saint Seiya: Soul Of Gold, the 2014 anime directed by Takeshi Furuta – which is available on Crunchyroll for anyone wanting to brush up ahead of the game’s arrival.

Terra Formars We’re Gonna Need More Bug Spray FIVE hUNdrEd YEArS ago mankind attempted to terraform the barren surface of the planet Mars using two of the most resilient lifeforms from Earth – moss and cockroaches. Now, with a virus threatening to wipe out the population on Earth, a mission is sent to Mars to see if the planet can be inhabited. What the expedition find is not a new Eden, but a planet now overrun by massive, deadly humanoid bugs. And thus the battle begins to reclaim Mars for mankind, as a strike force of elite, genetically engineered warriors is assembled with one mission – to crush the mutated bugs and stake mankind’s claim to the red planet. Terra Formars started life as a manga by Yu Sasuga and Kenichi Tachibana, and now Manga has picked up the 13-episode anime adaptation for the UK. At the helm is hiroshi hamasaki, who has plenty of sci-fi experience with credits including Texhnolyze and the excellent Steins;Gate. The series will be released on dVd and Blu-ray on 31 August. If it tickles your fancy, a live action version is in the works from director Takashi Miike, who is no stranger to adapting hit properties, having tackled live action versions of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the classic anime Yatterman and the manga Crows Zero.

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TAKESHI KITANO Best loved in Japan as a comedian and TV presenter, Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano has a global career as an actor and director in movies like Merry Christmas Mister Lawrence and Boiling Point. As well as setting up his own talent agency and film production company, Office Kitano, he has also become a successful author and painter in his own right. He truly is a powerhouse!

Violent Cop

Battle Royale

Zatoichi

(1989)

Takeshi’s Castle – TV Game Show (1986–1990)

(2000)

(2003)

Kitano plays Azuma, a no-nonsense cop with unorthodox methods of catching the bad guys – a’la Dirty Harry – and he only becomes more unhinged after his sister is kidnapped! This movie was originally intended to be a comedy, with Kinji Fukasaku taking the director’s chair. But when Fukasaku pulled out of the project, Kitano took hold of the reigns. Re-writing most of the script (uncredited), he turned it into a serious gritty drama, and his directorial debut!

First seen by UK audiences back in the late ‘80s during episodes of Tarrant on TV, Takeshi’s Castle was a crazy Japanese game show where competitors had to endure physical challenges before facing off Count ‘Beat’ Takeshi in the final. The series was re-edited in the late ‘80s from its original Japanese format and included actor Craig Charles (Red Dwarf ) as narrator. It has become somewhat of a cult since then and can still be enjoyed through repeats on Challenge.

A total of 42 unruly students are taken to a deserted island and forced to kill each other. If they fail to comply with the rules, a fitted collar around their necks will explode. There can only be one winner in this extreme survival ‘game’ concocted by a twisted future Japanese government, and whoever is left standing will be permitted to leave the island. Kitano plays the aptly named Kitano, the administrator of the perverted programme.

Kitano was a little reluctant to take on the role of director and lead actor in this re-imagining of the classic film series about a wandering blind swordsman who protects the helpless from malicious thugs. But he had nothing to fear, as his reworking of the legendary Japanese hero won him much acclaim and a legion of new fans. He would later go on record as saying that making the film was one of the most artistically and creatively satisfying experiences of his career.

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28/05/2015 15:43

Manga Snapshot

Family SuSpenSe

neo doesn’t wait for translation. Jonathan Clements looks at what’s happening in the Japanese comics world right now… IssuE: #170 dEbut yEar: c.2000 pagE count: c.520 publIshEr: Kasakura prIcE: 670 yen (£3.66) cyclE: Monthly They’re noT pulling any punches at Family Suspense (1) magazine. yu Takano’s impressionist cover is emblazoned with the massive words “useless Woman”, above a picture of a barefoot, chubby lady sitting beside a can of beer. yes, beer. it’s like the end times. “i don’t know,” she is saying in a lurid purple balloon, “if there is any way i can go on.” The first story in Family Suspense sets the tone for domestic conflict, with Takumi ono’s She Married My Son, But… (2) Manga magazines are full of in-law struggles, but this one is great fun because it’s told from the point of view of an interfering mother-in-law. The reader is kept perpetually guessing whether our heroine has really done nothing to piss off her daughter-inlaw, or if she is lying to herself, and is actually a genuinely irritating gossip. She tries to drop off some of her son’s favourite food with his bride, but is given a brusque brush-off, and then she remembers the fateful day when her son Kishihiko brought yuka back for the first time. Ten years younger than him, and already pregnant with their child, our mother-in-law protagonist plainly disapproves, believing that Kishihiko is merely settling for the most recent in a string of hussies. ono’s story shows only the mother-in-law’s

perspective on a series of encounters. Daughterin-law yuka soon comes across as ratty and embittered, but there is the ever-present suspicion, beautifully handled by the artist, that we might be

KASAKURA LIMITED

looking at the testimony of an unreliable narrator.

The publisher, Kasakura, was founded in 1975, and specialized initially in gambling, fishing mags (one of its other titles is the fishy-sounding Salt & Stream) and the car magazine Champ Road. But Family Suspense, running for the last 15 years, taps into the ever-strong market of haunted housewives.

all is revealed – the baby isn’t Kishihiko’s after all;

Matters come to a head when we suddenly see yuka in a clinch with… gasp… another man. At last, Kishihiko and yuka are already divorced, and she has made a new life with the man revealed by a DnA test to be the actual father. There was indeed something going on all along, but arguably the fault was Kishihiko’s in keeping his divorce secret from his own mum. There’s another twisted tale of motherhood in Perfection Destroyed (3) by Saori Kirino. Bar hostess Sakiko tells her lawyer and sometime

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lover Atsushi that she is pregnant, and gormlessly

law, rather than his manipulative daughter, who has

accepts his story that he is caring for his sick and

taken out a loan and now refuses to pay it back.

recently bereaved mother, and that she needs

Saori Kirino is back, yet again, with another tale

to raise their child alone. it is only after she has

in Neighbourhood Victim (5). yes, Kirino does seem

struggled as a single mother for four years that

to be doing rather a lot of these – this Chiba-born

she calls on his house, bringing equal amounts

artist is a regular fixture at many of the housewives’

of surprise into both her life and that of Atsushi’s

manga magazines, but an online search for more

previously unmentioned wife. The vengeful Sakiko

details about her only uncovers her blog, which

decides to kill both herself and her son – a very

disappointingly comprises little more than pictures

Japanese cop-out – but is left to pick up the pieces

of her lunch and screenshots of TV weddings.

when only the boy dies.

Neighbourhood Victim is about that most everyday

PARASITE & WORSE

of irritations, the “friend” who won’t take no for an answer, and who is free and easy with other people’s

Saori Kirino is back with the self-explanatory My

time. noriko is a busy housewife and mother, but

Sister-in-Law Cannot Be Trusted (4), which comes

has to field constant hassles from an acquaintance

with the awesome subtitle: “Super Annoying

determined to rope her into bargain sales one town

parasite Sister-in-law.” With such a high concept,

over, impromptu picnics and other outings.

the story pretty much writes itself, as our husband

“The message here, it seems, is that sometimes it’s okay to just tell someone to sod off – quite a tall order in polite Japan.”

if you thought this would end with either an

and wife couple go to his father’s 60th birthday

excitingly psychotic episode or the revelation of a

celebrations, entertainingly ruined by his loud-

fellow human being’s need for comfort, you’d be

mouthed, self-regarding and, seemingly, blonde

wrong. noriko eventually loses it with her pushy pal,

sister Mika. your correspondent is particularly irked

and although there is a brief sniffle of remorse, the

by Mika’s habit of referring to herself at all times in

hanger-on is soon sucking up to someone else. The

the third person, which skillfully imparts the sense in

message here, it seems, is that sometimes it’s okay

Japanese that she has a mental age of about eight.

to just tell someone to sod off – quite a tall order in

Although, then again, your correspondent has just

polite Japan.

referred to himself in the third person as well [Your

And that’s a recurring topic throughout this

editor finds this amusing – ed.]. The pay-off for this

magazine. it rarely stoops to the grotesque grand

story is one of simple come-uppance, where, after

guignols of some housewives’ manga, preferring

much hand-wringing and shouting, the aged father

to keep its drama realistic and occasionally shouty.

comes out in support of his son and daughter-in-

Far from anti-climactic, the stories instead offer a

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#5 frequent message of standing up for oneself and gripping the nettle of difficult friends and relations. Time and again, the stories grapple with the seemingly minor, but ever-escalating idea of simply, politely, doing what one wants, such as in Field Battle (6) by Kakeru Tokita, in which two in-laws bicker over whether a garden is best used for flowers or vegetables, or The Other Side of Happiness (7) by yumi nakano, in which two families argue over culpability when a child is hospitalized by a car accident. With a title like Family Suspense, i was expecting some sense of horror or urban myth, but this is a manga magazine very much invested in a much more compelling sense of unease. The stories in this magazine all play to the burdens of obligation that plague any family, but are perhaps magnified in Japan, which puts even Britain to shame in its

IT’S GOOD TO RECYCLE

Tellingly, many tales in Family Suspense have murky opening spreads that give them away as former leader-stories from earlier magazines, previously printed on the colour pages that can be found at the front even of black and white manga magazines. The dates and cellphone designs suggest that many stories here are over a decade old, recycled once the previous readership might be expected to have moved on. Sneaky... maybe we should give it a go.

story after story. life doesn’t have to be this way. Confront your noisy neighbour, not necessarily with a baseball bat, but with a smile and a cake. Tell your interfering aunt to stuff it. explain to your in-laws you need some space. These are all simple acts, but any one of them could be a step towards a solution. The cover girl is mistaken. There are a myriad ways of dealing with the problems that life throws at her, a fact which Family Suspense constantly, subtly whispers to its readers.

fervent pursuit of the outward appearance of harmony, whatever the cost. The magazine first sprang into life in Japan in an economic stagnation, and so little has changed that they can blow the dust off 13-year-old stories and just run them again today. But our yellow-tinged heroine on the cover is depressed for a different reason – hell for her is other people, and there’s little of the feel-good family fun to be found in some other magazines. Family Suspense relies for its drama and tension on the misery of others… presumably because at least our own lives look better in comparison. And yet, and yet, the message is there, constantly reinforced, constantly repeated in

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DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES?

What does the lonely housewife get up to when she’s not reading Family Suspense? There’s always the manga exercise regime (no, really, 1: follow along and let us know how you get on...), but the inside front cover offers salacious details of a service called love Talk (2), which appears to be a dating service. i say “appears” because ambiguous wording makes it unclear whether the ladies who use this service are talking to members of the public or paid hosts. either way, they can select from either the meeting Corner or Tele-H chat rooms, the latter of which, it is implied, will soon have them aflutter with saucy talk. and if they like what they hear, they can set up meetings in real life. “i’m shy,” stammers the headline, “but i want a boyfriend.” Whom might the lady caller expect to meet? Well, the only guy pictured on the page is a hunky gaijin model who looks a bit like nicolas Cage, doing his best to lick the face off some foreign woman. Could be worse. But love Chat isn’t the only service on offer. Barely two pages later is the yrin (3) service, this time skewing apparently younger, and offering the chance to meet “boys”. The comic-style panels show a girl laughing over an iced latte with an eligible bachelor, while thinking to herself: “He’s nice… but i want to try and meet more different kinds of men.” and that’s not all, because there’s the sister-service yrim, which offers the chance to meet other ladies, and then, it is implied, set up double dates with all those men on the yrin lists. if that doesn’t work, you can always resort to sorcery. not for the first time, manga Snapshot discovers an advertorial feature at the very back of a women’s magazine, which is offering magic bracelets that will turn around your fortune. The Most Valuable Gift in Life (4) by Hiromu maya focusses on what is presumably the target mark of Family Suspense, a single mother of five years’ standing, struggling to balance her cheque book. However, when she heard of the magical powers of two special bracelets sold by the feel-good wizard madame akashi, she snaps up both the Hotaru (Firefly – which offers luck in love and fate), and Suzaku (Vermilion Sparrow – which

offers luck in money and career). in short order, she then wins a travel competition, somehow gets a windfall of 100 million yen and bumps into Tattchan, her childhood sweetheart, now an eligible single father with an adorable child of his own, plainly ready to arrange a wealth-drenched rerun of The Brady Bunch with her. Soon they move in together, all thanks to the Tale of Genji bracelets. Did i forget to mention that part? you’d be forgiven for thinking that these bracelets were ridiculous tat, but apparently they are inspired by traditional fate-steering artifacts, as mentioned in the classical novel the Tale of Genji. Well, no. To add insult to injury, the makers of these bracelets clearly don’t expect their readers to have read the Tale of Genji either, since in it Suzaku is a vile emperor cuckolded by the hero, while Hotaru is an overbearing lothario who won’t take no for an answer. Tellingly, the magic bracelets have been reduced in cost by a staggering 90%, now retailing at a bargain £10 each. madame akashi’s ad copy (5) offers no explanation for this plunge in the cost of magic. is Japan suffering from a surplus of good luck at the moment? One wonders about the mysteries of “perceived value”, since if she’s prepared to offer her jeweled charms for only a tenner a throw, it does kind of imply that they were worthless trinkets to begin with. What do you think? The suspense is killing us..!

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anime Exposé

Food Wars!

school meals were never this entertaining…

01 From a small family-owned diner to the most prestigious culinary

a vocational school so prestigious that the scions of Japan’s finest

academy in the eastern hemisphere – can one scrappy teen conquer

food empires battle over entry. Even for those who make the grade,

the finest palates and snobbiest attitudes in Japan’s food world?

Totsuki prides itself on a cooking curriculum that’s so rigorous that

Order’s Up

only ten percent of its students ever graduate. Getting in isn’t the problem though – soma’s biggest challenge is

Head to high school or inherit the family business? That’s the choice

in even being taken seriously by his fellow students, who immediately

facing soma Yukihira at the start of Food Wars! Unfortunately, while

look down on his humble origins. Worst of all is the school’s unofficial

he’d be more than happy to follow in his father Jouichiro’s footsteps

queen, Erina Nakiri, whose sense of taste is so refined that she’s

and take over restaurant Yukihira – just as soon as he can out-cook

courted as a consultant by world class chefs, and she detests

his old man – he may not have a say in the matter. No sooner does

soma’s laid-back attitude. Yet, unfazed by Totsuki’s reputation, the

soma save the eatery from a ruthless property developer after

chilled out teen chef has a secret weapon – his family’s cooking style

demonstrating his supreme talent in the kitchen, than Jouichiro

champions versatility, with restaurant Yukihira known for its diverse,

drops the shutters and moves to New York! In his absence, soma is

almost freestyle menu offering dishes from around the world.

sent to take the entrance exam for the Totsuki Culinary academy,

Forced into an underdog role, soma’s unconventional style and inventiveness in the kitchen starts to win him both friends, including the shy megumi and an entire dorm full of food-obsessed weirdoes, and unlikely admirers; notably Totsuki’s principal. Unfortunately, that’s Erina’s father! as things heat up in the kitchen and on campus, soma finds himself having to push his culinary prowess to the limits and fight to maintain his place at Totsuki academy. The battles may be metaphorical in Food Wars! but we guarantee they’re as exciting as anything Naruto has ever offered!

Fresh Ingredients adapted from Yuto Tsukuda and shun saeki’s original manga Shokugeki no Soma, Food Wars! has been running in Weekly Shonen

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Trivia: MICHELIN STAR

all the dishes in Food Wars! are real, created with the assistance of famous Japanese chef (and model!) Yuki Morisaki!

01 soma may be on the lowest rung of the social ladder at Totsuki, but his incredible skill in the kitchen is sure to make his detractors eat their words! 02 Let’s just say that settling in at Totsuki academy is a work in progress for soma. 03 Life at Totsuki academy is tough, but there’s no denying the school meals definitely make it worthwhile!

Cuisine on the Screen

“The battles may be metaphorical in Food Wars! but we guarantee they’re as exciting as anything Naruto has ever offered!” Jump since 2012. a comparatively new addition to

the dishes served up, the show is a feast for the

the pages of the biggest manga anthology in the

eyes. Having most recently helmed the Tiger &

world, it’s quickly become one of its most popular

Bunny movies, it’s clear Yonetani is channelling a

and successful series.

bit of that superhero energy into Food Wars!

The secret to its success is easy to see, though

shogo Yasukawa’s script adaptation also

– despite running alongside the action-packed

injects a little more drama into these early

fantasy likes of Bleach, World Trigger, and Seraph

chapters in the characters’ lives, in particular,

of the End, it still packs in all the tension and high

sharpening the clash in personalities between

stakes battles that make its contemporaries such

the laid back, quietly confident soma, and the

enduring successes. The only difference is that

harsh, entitled Erina. Yet with each episode,

Food Wars! swaps out familiar tropes such as

we’re already starting to see the depth of the

martial arts tournaments or extra-dimensional

cast and their backgrounds emerge, making for

invaders for struggles in the burning crucible of

compelling viewing.

the kitchen! That fiery passion to win and the life-or-

Food Wars! is an unlikely series to win the attention of viewers accustomed to super powers

academic-death stakes soma faces in the manga

and larger-than-life heroes, but with its mix of

are brilliantly brought to life by director Yoshitomo

compelling characters, tense gourmet battles and

Yonetani. From little visual flourishes, such as

surprisingly high stakes, it’s hard not to fall in love.

soma’s dynamic donning of his headband and

seconds, please!

apron when it’s time to battle, to the gorgeous but hilariously over the top reactions people have to

Cooking isn’t a hugely wellrepresented genre in anime, but Food Wars! is far from the first of its kind. one of the earliest series to deal with the culinary world was 1987’s Mister Ajikko, which saw the “genius boy cook” Youichi ajiyoshi testing his skills against a series of master chefs. 2004’s Yakitate!! Ja-Pan saw aspiring baker azuma Kazuma battling to get into the finest bakery academy in Japan and create a nationally representative new bread – all while taking part in some of the most outrageous kitchen combat ever seen. 2008’s Antique Bakery and 2009’s Yumeiro Patisserie both stuck to the baking theme, though the former was more interested in its boy love influences and the latter veers into magical girl territory with heroine Ichigo able to summon “sweets spirits”. Nothing is quite as strange as Toriko though, where the eponymous “Gourmet Hunter” takes down savage but delicious monsters while fighting a world-conquering megacorp!

Food Wars! streams to the UK via Crunchyroll. com. Turn the page for some of its tastiest treats!

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Food Porn

The tastiest dishes Food Wars! has on its menu!

Chinese Fried Rice: A basic but delicious dish, and the first meal Soma puts together in the series, in competition with his dad.

Rice with Transforming Seasoning: Soma impresses Erina’s god-tier taste buds with this – jellied chicken stock melts into hot rice and egg. Delicious!

Mackerel Hamburg Set: With nothing but leftovers, Soma whips up a mock hamburger using canned mackerel, served with rice and egg soup.

Fried Mixed Veggies: Something for the vegetarians! Fresh veg grown in the Polar Star dorm’s garden, shredded and fried. Simple but yummy!

“Gotcha” Pork Roast: Soma’s impromptu creation – potato wrapped in bacon – proved good enough to save the Yukihira restaurant!

Honeyed Boeuf Bourguignon: Soma saves Megumi from expulsion with this recipe, which tenderises the beef in a fraction of the time – earning them an ‘A’!

Smoked Cheese and Three Jerky: Soma’s dormmate Shun’s speciality is smoked foods, and his intro platter makes for perfect party nibbles.

Spanish Mackerel with Chinese Pepper Purée: Ishiki’s last minute dorm meal that moves the eater to heaven. Can Soma compete with such brilliance?

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anime Exposé

Plastic MeMories Don’t fear the reaper

Tsukasa Mizuguchi is in for a tough first day in his new job. he

each day as if they were in any average job, with all the small pleasures

got the position through his dad, barely knows the company, and is

and petty arguments that make up everyday life.

utterly unprepared. Then again, how does one prepare for being a grim reaper to self-aware androids?

Signs of Life

Tsukasa is immediately drawn to one member in particular though – isla, a giftia who becomes his partner. Yet as the duo grow closer, it becomes clear isla is approaching the end of her own life. unlike many of her android peers though, she’s not accepting of her impending

sai corp is the world’s leading robotics company. its premiere product

mortality. can she escape the fate she was ‘born’ to, and if not, can

is giftia, androids so advanced they’re said to possess virtual souls.

Tsukasa help her accept the inevitability?

sold as companions, they serve as anything from servants to ersatz spouses, lovers or even children. The only hitch is that they come

End Program

with a built-in expiration date – giftia ‘live’ for only 81,920 hours, or a

imagine you knew, to the very hour, exactly when you would die. how

little over nine years. after that, their personalities fracture and their

would you live? Who would you love? how would you love them? it’s

memories degrade. Yet those nine years are long enough for humans

a chain of unsettling and frankly depressing thoughts, but the bleak

to form bonds with their robotic familiars, and not everyone is capable

fatalism at the heart of Plastic Memories is also the source of some

of letting go.

of the most tender, beautiful moments you’ll see on screen this year.

That’s where Tsukasa’s new job with the Terminal service comes

conceived by writer Naotaka hayashi, Plastic Memories is an original

in. sai corps’ glorified bagmen, the group is sent out to collect

creation from animation studio Doga kobo. The series is directed by

giftia about to expire. split into human / android teams, the latter

Yoshiyuki Fujiwara, best known for slice of life drama Engaged to the

programmed to negotiate the “release” of other giftia and the former

Unidentified and comedy GJ Club, who brings a gentle pacing and

largely in an oversight role, each day is about bringing an end to a

level of humanity to each episode that reinforces its emotional depth.

thinking, reasoning being. Despite the sombre nature of their role,

While it shares similarities with the likes of Time of Eve, notably

there’s a surprising cheer to the team. Fiery kazuki kuwanomi leads

in the shape of fully sapient androids being central to the plots, here

the group, joined by an eclectic group of humans and giftia who live

hayashi and Fujiwara use the concept to explore how humanity

Trivia: SEMI-COLONS

deals with its own mortality and the loss of loved ones. it’s about

Plastic Memories creator Naotaka Hayashi is no stranger to high-concept sci-fi – he’s the writer behind hit games / anime series Robotics;Notes, Chaos;Head, and Steins;Gate!

when they come to an end. it’s an intrinsically saddening series, yet

relationships in all their myriad forms, and how we console ourselves somehow effortlessly uplifting in its handling of dour themes. Plastic Memories is streaming to the uk on crunchyroll.com.

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our Man in Japan

Welcome to chinatoWn

Tokyo may be the first port of call for many, but Adam Miller thinks Yokohama is too awesome to miss. the view of Yokohama from the top of Yokohama tower.

Much like how liam hemsworth is outshone by his older brother chris, Yokohama has had a long standing tendency to be overlooked by tourists and

Don’t look down!

natives alike, as it sits next to the behemoth that is Tokyo. with the plethora of skyscrapers that litter the capital, the shadow it casts on Yokohama only just lies on the right side of metaphorical. But whilst Tokyo hogs all the glory like a sandy-haired Norse god, Yokohama is and of itself an awesome place, with all the luxuries of Tokyo and minus a few of the trappings, such as tourist spots infested with camera-totting travelers, or trains so crowded guards have to literally shove and squeeze passengers on board. Don’t get me wrong, Yokohama is still busy, but it pales in comparison to the hectic clamber of Tokyo. Nor am i saying that Yokohama is nothing but a watered down version of the capital, far from it! commodore Matthew Perry (not chandler from Friends) arrived in Yokohama in 1853, along with a fleet of American warships and the ‘Treaty of Peace and Amity’, which basically meant that Japan would be asked politely at the end of several large guns to openly trade with the international market for the first time in centuries. The fact that Yokohama was the conduit through which Japan was reintroduced to the world is celebrated on biscuit tins, T-shirts, towels and bed sheets throughout the city… gotta love the Japanese ingenuity to make a few gazillion yen on souvenirs. Focusing on this century, however, Yokohama has a buzzing music scene, with crazy ken Band being a personal favourite of mine. The harbour and token tower are both pleasant, the addition of a glass floor panel in the latter makes it all the more memorable. it is also Japan’s second most populated city, with over 3.7 million people calling Yokohama home. But what it is best known for, without a doubt, is chinatown; the biggest of its kind in Japan, and one of the largest in the world.

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the Rise of chinatoWn

the Goodwill Gate. Photo by mark Guthrie.

chinatown’s rise to the top is peppered with international transportation innovations, segregation, devastation, world war sparking invasions and consolidations. After Perry “convinced” Japan to open its borders, a seaport was opened in Yokohama in 1859, which welcomed a number of chinese immigrants, who quickly established small settlements in the area. it was not all plain sailing, however, as there were legal restrictions as to where these new guests could stay, and although these laws were loosened in 1899, strict guidelines stated what kind of jobs these immigrants could take on, and as vendor was an acceptable career choice, restaurants, shops and traditional pharmacies started to make the foundations of what we know as chinatown today. Although chinatown had far from a smooth start, it would soon enter its most troublesome phase, starting with the devastating Great kanto earthquake, which hit in 1923 and killed as many as 100,000 people, leaving a further 1.9 million without homes. Yokohama was also hit, and many of the immigrants chose to return to the safety and familiarity of their home country, leaving their Yokohama life behind. This was not the biggest hurdle chinatown had to overcome, however. in 1937, after years of rising tension, Japan and china officially went to war, and the expansion of chinatown ground to a screeching halt. Relationships between Japan and china would take years to repair (many would argue the wounds are yet to heal), but in 1955, a full ten years after wwii had ended, a “Goodwill Gate” was built, and acted as a symbol of the area being formally recognised by the city, and officially named Yokohama chukagai (Yokohama chinatown). Since then, it has grown and grown in popularity and notoriety. it’s packed to the gills on any given day of the week – and with over 250 stores and restaurants to explore, there is variety in spades. The sprawl is expansive, but the main area is packed into 300 square metres, with huge stores lobbying for attention on the main streets, and hidden gems tucked away in the back-alleys.

foReVeR festiVe! it may well be most famous for its food and Bruce lee themed souvenirs, but there are also a number of festivals throughout the year to give you yet another reason to drop by. At the tail end of May and beginning of June you can check out the Dragon Boat race, there is an annual halloween festival, christmas ‘illumination’ (Xmas lights) and fair, as well as a mammoth chinese New Year celebration. For foodies, the eighth annual Food Festival will be held this November, and is the perfect way to put on a little blubber for the looming winter months. For those of you with some Japanese language skills under your belt, check out the official website for more details: www.chinatown.or.jp

eScAPe FRoM TokYo

shrimp filled dumplings.

Tokyo may have the big guns in regards to tourist spots, but if you can tear yourself away for just one day, you can be right outside chinatown after just a 35 minute train ride from Shibuya, where you can get the best food, listen to the best music, and buy the best Game of Death yellow jumpsuit available in Japan!

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COSPLAY STAR SPECIAL

Candy Valentina

Pokémon CHARACTER: Jessie from Team Rocket PHOTOGRAPHER: Justine-Louise Photography COSTUME: Catalyst Latex URLs: facebook.com/candyvalentinaofficial facebook.com/justinelouisephotography1 facebook.com/pages/CatalystLatex/160186547330517

Character Pokémon was a big part of my childhood growing up in the ‘90s. I wanted to pay homage to this by cosplaying Jessie, as she was always my favourite character!

Background The galaxy-printed background was hinting at part of the Team Rocket catchphrase: “Blasting off again!”

Costume I commissioned Catalyst Latex to create my Jessie Team Rocket cosplay. I knew I wanted it to be made from latex, and unfortunately I do not possess the skills necessary to make it, so Catalyst were the best option for me. It turned out exactly how I had pictured it in my head, and I couldn’t be happier!

Pose I researched all of Jessie’s main poses before shooting this cosplay, just to make sure we captured it as accurately as possible. I felt this pose was one of the strongest, as it incorporated the Pokéball and her infamous stern look.

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COSPLAY STAR SPECIAL Autumn Ivy, inspired by Nicole-Marie Jean’s original Autumn Ivy concept.

Bombshell Batwoman from New 52 DC Bombshells variant comic.

Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

All photos: Justine-Louise Photography

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Cosplay Corner

Photo: Martin Siggers.

01 03

Photo: Sonesh Joshi Photography.

01 Destinywings Cosplay as Kingdom Heartsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Sora. 02 Princess Cosplays as Mami Tomoe from Madoka Magica. 03 Zelda from Twilight Princess by Superdebz Cosplay. 04 Reyamimi Cosplay as Princess of the Crystal from Mawaru Penguindrum. 05 Jerico Lumanlan as Raiden from Metal Gear Rising Revengance. 06 Destinywings Cosplay as Cloud. 07 Anna-Marie Davis-Bawn: Alice Madness Returns. 08 Helen Alice Cosplay as Kushina Uzumaki from Naruto Shippuden.

Photo: John Gallagher.

NEO Readers Strut Their Stuff!

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Photo: Kathryn Wilkinson

Photo: Martin Siggers.

Photo: facebook.com/JonDeaPhotography.

Photo: facebook.com/RogueStallion.JMLL

05 06

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28/05/2015 16:01

Manga School with Ruth Keattch

Spread Some SunShine Summer has come around so fast! Let’s usher in the wonderfully warm season with an equally warm picture, full of yellows, oranges, and reds – and a festive fairy to really get into the spirit of things!

1. Summer Fun

2. linearT

now we need to go back over our pencils to get a clean lineart. This will help immensely when you come to colour with your Chameleon pens, as they have very strong colours, so you need the lineart to be of good quality in order to look clean and tidy. once you have inked, wait for the ink to dry, and gently rub out your pencil lines. if you miss some and put the colour on top, you risk the grey being trapped forever, so do this carefully.

Firstly, we must start with our sketch to get our basic composition down. i have decided to add in lots of elements to show off summer – so i’ve picked flowers. if you struggle with drawing elements like this, get yourself a decent reference. The real thing is always best, but don’t forget that Google images is amazing as well!

3. BaSe ColourS

now, we need to apply the base colours. Chameleon pens work beautifully in layers, so you need to pick the lighter colours for your basic colour palette. With these pens, you can create an in-built gradient, by touching the two nibs of the pens together in the middle. Wait for the colour to drain, and then apply! establish all your basic colours – the bold details are coming.

4. deTailinG in Colour

at this stage, we are going to go deeper with the colours and add some bold streaks through the lighter colours. We’re not painting in the shadows just yet, we want to create a depth with the colours here while still working on the light. Taking your slightly bolder colours, apply streaks through the light base; this will also give the impression of streaks of light.

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5. add ShadoWS

now we move onto the shadows. Take the darker corresponding colours to your light bases, and carefully begin to apply the dark colour. pressing too hard will transfer too much to the paper. if you do this, keep your blender at the ready to blend it into the base colours if you make a mistake. The blender will help the shadows merge neatly with the lighter colours.

6. Spread Your WinGS!

i have left the wings until last as we want these to be very vivid and bright – go straight in with your bright colours to really make them stand out! Your blender will come in handy here to really merge those colours.

ART TOOLS: ChAmeLeOn PenS Chameleon Pens bring you an innovation in art tools. The 20 Chameleon Pen Deluxe set, including an array of skin tones and vibrant colours, allow you to produce over 100 tones, taking you from the lightest tone all the way to the richest. Visit the website www.ChameleonPens.com for more information.

7. FiniShinG TouCheS!

and now we’ve finished up the wings, use a bit of white paint to add some highlights and bring out any places you want to draw attention to. once you’ve done this, our gorgeous and summery fairy is complete – ready to have a cold drink in the garden with! www.neomag.co.uk 043

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artist Showcase

THE BEST IN WESTERN TALENT every issue, Neo will be featuring our favourite work from artists inspired by anime, manga and games

NAME: dolce Capella AGE: 23 BASED IN: liverpool PROFESSION: Secondary School teacher FAvOuRItE MANGA: Naruto, Blue Exorcist and Death Note.

I would rather my relationship with manga be termed as a ‘romance’, though my fangirling fits of hyperventilation whenever new, surprise chapters of Naruto are released remind me that it’s an obsession. Graceless, and unhealthy, and, at times, undignified.

art is something that has always been present in my life; my granddad always had an oil painting on the go, my dad was forever doodling around the edges of his work notes – sketching feels like the most natural thing in the world to me. though, I can’t say my teachers were happy about me inheriting my dad’s doodling habit. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing or creating cartoon characters, but I will never forget the first time I watched Naruto and decided I was going to draw manga from that moment on. I’ve spent the past eight years daydreaming about ninjas and continuously creating my own manga plots and characters because of the god that is Masashi Kishimoto. the current product of my ninja-fuelled dreams is entitled Dolce in Pursuit of Adventure, my original manga project. It follows the story of Cherami Morgan, determined to find an adventure of her own after being inspired by her hero, dolce. In a futuristic world, where humanity has exhausted the planet’s natural resources and is under the control of a corporation whose goal is to recycle and rebuild, Cherami quickly finds out that even the best of intentions can have the gravest of consequences. there will be action, fantasy and a good dollop of mystery – so watch this space! to catch me online, check out dolcecapella.deviantart.com.

InspIratIon Shonen manga is my muse, but I draw inspiration from many other things, from Sherlock Holmes and Greek mythology to Lana Del Rey songs and Margaret Atwood novels. Anything to do with mysteries, complex characters and thoughtful worlds you can lose yourself in instantly sparks my imagination and drives me to create new art works!

03 01 Rio: one of my babies!! 02 Dolce in Pursuit of Adventure. The six main characters on my original comic... Make sure you stay tuned! 03 Ovid – my idea of neo-shamanism.

nEo Wants You! If you are interested in submitting work to be featured in the NEO ARTIST SHOWCASE, please email mail@neomag.co.uk with ‘ARTIST SHOWCASE’ as your subject header, along with an internet link with examples of your work.

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Stuff!

Check out NEO’s pick of the coolest merchandise around this month

WeiSS SchWarz Love Live! TriaL Deck anD BooSTerS

Good news for Love Live! fans, as Weiß Schwarz will be releasing a new booster pack to accompany last year’s Weiß Schwarz Love Live! trial Deck and Boosters! Love Live! DX will be released on 26 June, and retails for £4.50 – the pack is based on the Love Live mobile game, which in turn is based on the show! Purchase the original trial deck and booster packs now for £14.99 per deck and £4.50 per booster – and check out the site at http://ws-tcg.com/en/products/ lovelive for all the info about this epic card game! find your local games shop at http://www.findyourgamestore.co.uk/.

genki gear gooDieS

Genki Gear have released a new design entitled Wrecking Crew – priced at £15.99, it’s available in unisex and women’s fitted tees from www. GenkiGear.com. Also fresh to the site are a new range of hoodies with a cool interior trim in accent colours, priced £28.99 each!

JokerWare

Get your hands on this awesome JokerWare t-shirt at the special sale price of £18.00 (saving 25% on the RRP of £24.00!). Part of the JokerWare Manga collection, this is the Ace of Spades Danzer graphic tee. All fees, including first class postage, are included in the price – and the t-shirt is 100% cotton too! Head on over to www. jokerware.co.uk to see the full range of men’s designs, based on geekery, anime, manga, ninjas, films, comics, and lots more besides!

SWorD arT onLine Figure Check out this dynamic figure of Asuna from fan-favourite series Sword Art Online! fresh from the smash hit game Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, this statue is 16cm tall and has been produced by Sega. Head on over to www.eyeonasia.co.uk now to nab this beauty for £17.99!

kuroko no BaSuke pLuSh

MaDoka Magica pLuSh

We love this adorable plush from Kuroko’s Basketball! Available now from www. tokyotoys.com for £17.00, this eight inch plush is perfect for placing on your desk to guilt yourself into going out for some exercise. On second thoughts, pop another episode on. It’s too hot / cold / early / late for sport right now...

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of our favourite titles in recent years, so we were thrilled to find this awesome Madoka plush on sale from www.tokyotoys.com for just £17.00! Carry her around to complement your cosplay! Or, keep her on your shelf by your bed and give her a little squeeze when no one’s looking. Why not?

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FACEBOOK Best MCM Comic Con Moment Jess Wing I was cosplaying Chun Li Sunday and the cutest little girl ran up to me and said “you’re

LETTERS

This month our star letter writer is besotted with cover girls SCANDAL, another writer is a retro anime fan, and everyone wants to go to Japan! Write in and you could win a prize!

my favourite, can I have a

The SCANDAL girls rock your world!

picture please?” aarrrwww :) Cakes With Faces Meeting so many lovely people who’d seen my designs & watched my videos – and seeing the first ever Cakes with Faces tattoo! Reuben Green Ninja Brian of Ninja Sex Party picked me out of the crowd at the Geekatorium panel a few times, he was extremely funny and had great humour. Richard Peck The amazing cosplay! Especially the Harley Quinn on roller skates and the amazing looking Pyramid Head.

STAR PRIZE

Our star letter writer this month gets themselves a copy of One Piece Film: Z, the latest in the pirating adventures of Luffy and his crew, available from Manga Entertainment now!

GET IN TOUCH By letter: NEO Letters, Uncooked Media Ltd, PO Box 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH Email: mail@neomag.co.uk Facebook: facebook.com/ neomagazineuk Twitter: @neo_magazine

SCANDAL Fan!

Christmas last year, I’ve really opened up to the

I have never written into your magazine before, so

anime and manga community. I’ve been into

as I pick up my pen, I am full of glee while I am just

anime for about eight or nine years now and

scribbling away.

I’m still young. I’d love to get some media work

As a regular reader of NEO magazine, I just wanted to thank you for your publication.

experience with anime. The first anime I watched was InuYasha. I

Sometimes for reasons unknown, I can feel a bit

instantly fell in love with the dog demon and his

down sometimes, and NEO automatically puts a

many antics. I got my friend into the same anime

smile on my face. It’s a great medicine.

and we became closer by bonding over our

Thank you for all the anime that you have

shared love of InuYasha. We explored new anime

introduced me to over the years. My favourites

and had long conversations about them, about

are The Devil Is A Part Timer, and Attack on Titan

the writers, the story behind the story, and the

(I hope there will be a part three). Also, can I thank

plots. I’ve gained new friends well. I love anime

you for introducing me to some great music? I have

and manga with all my heart. I want to live and

really gotten into SCANDAL! I have Standard, Hello

work in Japan and write my own manga one day.

World, Best Of, and now just pre-ordered their

JESSiCA CombLEy

Greatest Hits: European Selection, which I’m really looking forward to. I also love VAMPS and Lisa.

Japan-bound!

Many thanks again – long live NEO magazine!

I just wanted to write to you and thank you so

EmmA JoNES

much for such a great magazine. I admit I only

Weirdoes Unite!

discovered NEO about a year ago when my local

Y’know that weird girl sat there? Reading that

difference. I have discovered new and old anime

comic backwards and saying weird words like

that I would never have known existed, found

“Kawaii”? Yeah, she’ll get nowhere in life.

some great ideas for cosplay, tried some really fun

Or not, hello. That girl there found an outlet in

shop finally stocked it, and it has made a huge

games to play with my friends and family, got hold

life. She learnt a new drawing style; manga. This

of some new music, and expanded my already

helped her by becoming an artist to be one day be

impressive Asian film collection because of your

known. She read manga because of the plot. By

excellent reviews. The articles about Japan are

doing this, she exposed herself to new things.

brilliant and have me already saving and planning

I was introduced to NEO by one of my old friends. After getting a year’s subscription for

for my first trip there. SArAh CritChEr

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July ’15 • Issue 138 www.neomag.co.uk Uncooked Media Ltd, PO Box 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH Telephone 01202 586035 Email mail@neomag.co.uk Web www.uncookedmedia.com

The NEO Knights Editor Gemma Cox

Group Art Editor Claire Trent Contributors David West, Jonathan Clements, Adam Miller, Matt Kamen, Ruth Keattch, Tom Smith, Paul Quinn, Spencer Lloyd-Peet, Jacob Boniface, Andrew Osmond, Michael Dodson and Adrienne Law NEO logo designed by Terratag www.terratag.com

Customer Services

Cowboy Bebop

+44 (0)8453 306 540 customerservice@uncookedmedia.com

Love for Classics

never disappointed! I stick religiously to your

I personally love your magazine and continue

recommendations and I am always able to find the

to buy it every month, the reason being that I’m

best new anime to watch. I also love the free mini

usually always watching the classic cel-shaded

cut out posters. It makes it a lot easier to decorate

anime of the ‘90s like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost

my wall rather than paying a large amount of

in the Shell, Akira. And whenever I need advice

money to ship posters from around the world.

on which new anime is worth watching, I am

LoUiE tAyLor

Advertising

Advertising Manager Rob Cox 01202 586035 rob@uncookedmedia.com

Marketing

Marketing Co-ordinator Bianca Trent 01202 586034 bianca@uncookedmedia.com

Circulation

Circulation managed by Select Publisher Services 01202 586 848

Licensing

To discuss magazine licensing or content syndication please email licensing@uncookedmedia.com

roGEr AGUirrE. EL pASo

The Big Kahunas

Editorial Director Darren Herridge wonderdaz@gmail.com Finance Director Tim Harris tim@selectps.com Distributed through the UK newstrade by Seymour Ltd, 0207 429 4000 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT Distributed through the UK/US specialist trade by Diamond Comic Distributors, 020 8536 5730 Printed in the UK by Precision Colour Printing, Telford, Shropshire, UK

JoSEph phiLLipS, GLoUCEStEr

ENVELOPE ART

JACk ALLiNSoN, oxForD

If you want to contribute envelope art to a future issue, simply decorate an envelope, write your name and town of residence on the back and send it to: NEO Envelope Art, NEO, NEO Letters, Uncooked Media Ltd, PO Box 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH. Please ensure you pay the correct postage. Please note that we are unable to return your envelope entries.

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NEO is published every four weeks by Uncooked Media Ltd. All text and layout remains the copyright of Uncooked Media Ltd. NEO is a fully independent publication and its views are not those of any company mentioned herein. All characters and artwork shown in this magazine remain the © and trademark or their respective owners. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. NEO can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies or complaints arising from editorial or advertising within this magazine. All letters and emails received will be considered for publication, but we cannot provide personal replies. The publishers cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, transparencies or artwork. Please do not call, email or write to enquire whether your unsolicited submission has been received, as our priority is the production of the magazine. Another quality cold cut from

29/05/2015 15:03

HAil to tHe KiNG Run for your lives! Godzilla is back, and he’s heading for the Ps4!

It’s been 61 years since the King of the Monsters first stomped

defended earth against hostile invaders in Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla,

across cinema screens, crushing tokyo underfoot in the process.

and was similarly benevolent in the 1970s Hanna barbera cartoon.

When Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla opened in Japan in 1954, it was make-

but he’s always at his best when he’s at his worst.

or-break for toho studios – they threw everything they had into three big budget movies. the most expensive, due to a marathon

New GeN MoNster ActioN

shoot lasting almost a year, was Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.

six decades after his epic debut, Godzilla is roaring his way onto the

second was Hiroshi Inagaki’s Miyamoto Musashi about the famous

Ps4 for the first time in a brand new game from bandai namco. the

swordsman. And third came Godzilla, introducing the world to the

game allows users to control not only Godzilla, but to play as a range

wonders of suitmation, the pioneering special effects technique

of classic kaiju including King Ghidorah, Mothra, MechaGodzilla,

developed by eiji tsuburaya that saw a man in a monster suit –

spaceGodzilla, biollante, Destoroyah and even Jet Jaguar.

originally it was Haruo nakajima – smashing up incredibly detailed

the kaiju in the game are powered by G-energy, and the more

miniature sets. Fortunately for toho, which was on the brink of

destruction they unleash, the more they power up. so collateral

bankruptcy due to the record-breaking production costs, all three

damage is not only unavoidable, but downright desirable. As your

films were hits, ranking in the box office top ten for the year in Japan.

G-energy rises, Godzilla himself grows in size, from his starting

the original Godzilla was a serious commentary on Japan’s

height of 50 metres up to a truly colossal 100 metres. Likewise, his

fear of the atomic bomb. the country is the only nation to have

powers increase commensurately with his stature, as new offensive

experienced an attack with nuclear weapons, and in 1954 the

and defensive abilities become available and you can power up

American military conducted an atomic bomb test near the bikini

his deadly atomic blasts. the only downside to collecting more

Atoll, sending a huge cloud of radioactive ash into the air. so when

G-energy is that the more you have, the more rival monsters will

Honda’s film opened in cinemas, the fear of nuclear destruction was

be drawn to you looking for battle. Game features include a special

omnipresent – it is also the subject of Kurosawa’s drama Record Of

Movie-style Camera Angle system that allows players to view

A Living Being. the giant lizard embodies the atom bomb, and the

Godzilla as he appears in the movies – towering over you and raining

flames he unleashes in his offensive on tokyo have historical parallels

chaos from above. Gameplay includes three modes – Mission Mode

in the firestorms that swept through nagasaki and Hiroshima when

offers 25 stages of monster mayhem, Diorama Mode lets players

they were attacked.

built the perfect setting for Godzilla to destroy, while the King Of

While the original was a serious-minded science fiction thriller, Godzilla spawned a franchise that continues to the present day across films, manga, cartoons and toys. Different incarnations have had very different tones, including making the monster the hero. He

the Monsters Mode is a time trial by combat. It’s all kaiju carnage, all the time. Godzilla comes to the Ps4 and Playstation 3 on 17 July from bandai namco entertainment.

worDs BY DAViD west

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She’S The Man

yosuke Fujita talks to NEO’s David West about casting a famous comedienne as his leading man, the pressures of pleasing a global audience, and keeping it quirky in Fuku-Chan Of Fukufuku Flats. Miyuki OshiMa is a familiar and instantly recognizable face in

it never comes into a close-up, so probably in terms of cross-gender

Japan, where she is a member of the hugely popular female comedy

acting it is more easily done in a play. in a movie, because you’re

trio Morisanchu. But for her first leading role in a feature film, Fuku-

watching the actors really close up, it’s harder for a woman to play a

Chan Of Fukufuku Flats, director yosuke Fujita cast her as a man.

man’s role.”

she plays the titular Tatsuo Fukuda, an industrial painter by

Oshima shaved her head for the film and Fujita helped her learn

trade who resists any and all attempts by his friends to fix him

to walk like a man. They wrapped her chest to hide her breasts

up with a date. it’s all because he was the victim of a childhood

using an Onabe bra, named after a slang term for lesbians that

prank that destroyed his confidence when faced with members

oddly refers to the lid of a cooking pot, and the actress tried to make

of the opposite sex. so when his teenage tormentor Chiho (asami

herself more masculine for the production.

Mizukawa) unexpectedly reappears in his life, he is understandably

“she is actually a very wealthy person, she’s really famous in

sceptical of her intentions. having quit her day job to become a

Japan, she’s on TV every day, you see her every day,” says Fujita.

struggling photographer, Chiho has been searching for inspiration

“her husband is a very famous TV writer, so they live in a really nice

and believes she has found her muse in the unlikely, not to mention

flat in a really nice area, but she started sleeping on the floor instead

chubby, face of Fuku-chan.

of in her bed in order to make herself feel more like a man who does manual labour. she made a lot of effort to become Fuku-chan.”

Gender BendinG

When NEO met Fujita to talk about the film, it hadn’t been

Japanese theatre has a long tradition of gender-defying performers

released in Japan yet, so he was still waiting to find out how the

dating back to the start of the 17th century, as it was common

movie-going public would react to seeing Oshima gender bending

practice in kabuki theatre for male actors called Onnagata to play

on screen. “a few people there have seen it and some of them just

female roles, while in all-female tropes, known as Onnakabuki, the

accepted Miyuki Oshima playing the main role,” he says. “Maybe

women played men. One of the most famous gender-bending

for the first five minutes they probably think it’s a little awkward

performances in Japanese cinema was by kazuo hasegawa in

watching her being a man. But then because she’s such an amazing

ichikawa kon’s 1963 film An Actor’s Revenge. hasegawa, who

actress, they’re all into it and they accept it.”

was 55, plays yukinojo, a famous female impersonator in a kabuki

Despite the Japanese crew and stars, Fuku-Chan Of Fukufuku

theatre troupe, determined to exact his revenge on the three men

Flats was an international co-production with investors including

who caused his parents’ death.

italy’s Tucker Films, Germany’s Rapid Eye Movies, Taiwan’s Joint

While offering a beloved and successful comedienne the role of

Entertainment and British distributor Third Window Films, who

a man might seem like a gamble, apparently Oshima took it all in her

released both of Fujita’s previous movies Quirky Guys And Gals

stride. “i didn’t actually go and see her. The producer went to see

and Fine, Totally Fine in the uk. all this international exposure was

her and offered her the role. she just accepted it and wasn’t really

not something Fujita expected when he started making his offbeat

surprised or anything,” says Fujita. “Those kabuki theatre actors

comedies. “i’m really surprised to be honest,” he says. “i never

where men played women’s roles, that’s very traditional but it’s only

dreamed of having an offer from overseas, having made a couple of

in the theatre. The audience sees the performances from a distance,

movies i never thought i’d have people approaching me and giving me funds. it was like a dream. But also i feel a little more pressure

real men wrassle! Fukuda (Miyuki oshima) gets to grips with Shimachi (Yoshiyoshi arakawa).

because i’ve been internationally funded from other countries, so that means i have to make a movie that’s acceptable for an international audience as well. i’ve been to italy and Germany and Taiwan and the uk, i like watching movies from all over the world so maybe i can understand the mentality of each country’s people, but i don’t know personally what characteristics each country has. i feel a little anxious about how people will respond to the movie.”

STranGe BuT LoveaBLe Fukuda’s childhood trauma may feel familiar to anyone who dealt with bullies growing up, but Fujita says that part of the story wasn’t directly inspired by any of his own experiences. “Personally, i was never bullied when i was younger but i can’t really say i had

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Director “i don’t want to look down on my characters, i want to be on their level” Yosuke Fujita.

new profile pic. Still no likes. Sigh.

man doing a tour of local shrines as penance for stealing women’s

“I feel a little more pressure because I’ve been internationally funded from other countries, so that means I have to make a movie that’s acceptable for an international audience as well.”

panties, and a man who keeps a large snake as a pet because he’s

his craft. “Each time I’ve made a film I look back and see lots of

desperate for company.

mistakes, and I want to take them out and do it better each time,”

the happiest childhood,” he says. “Maybe there was some unhappiness in my childhood and that might be reflected in some parts of the film. I’ve done a lot of manual labour, so that was based on my experiences. There are so many elements I picked from my everyday life that I wanted to put into the movie. All the experiences I’ve had in the past have an effect on the story.” Throughout his films, Fujita has turned his camera onto characters on the edges of Japanese society. Fukuda’s neighbours inside the Fukufuku Flats apartment building include a young

“Yes, I do have quirky characters, but I don’t like complete

he says. “There’s always a mistake every time I make a movie, so it’s

oddballs or outsiders who don’t have any warmth in them,” says

a non-stop process as I have to make each film better than the last

Fujita. “They are oddballs, they are really quirky people, but they

one. That’s why I continue. This time I’ve found loads of mistakes, I’m

have to have a loveable element. I don’t want to have completely

going to have make those elements better next time.”

off-the-rails characters. If you’re a total loser, people tend to look

While Fujita’s low-key comedy style of filmmaking is never

down on someone like that. I don’t want to look down on any of my

going to take over multiplexes, it seems some of his devoted fans

characters, I want to be on their eye level. That’s why I don’t slag

are more than a little critical of any perceived attempts to appeal

them off, I want to love them. They are strange but loveable.”

to mainstream moviegoers. “I wouldn’t say this time that Fuku-

Fujita’s loveable oddballs were created in the writing and

Chan is more commercial than my last film, Fine, Totally Fine, but

rehearsal process. While there is a plenty of banter between the

it’s probably a little more accessible to a wider audience,” says

characters on screen, that was all worked out in advance. “On the

Fujita. “Fine, Totally Fine, maybe people in their 70s, 80s, they

set there wasn’t much improvisation,” says Fujita, “purely because

wouldn’t understand the movie, but this time I think Fuku-Chan has

the budget was tight and time was short, so I didn’t have any leeway

broadened the audience. That might be the good thing about this

to do anything additional to the script. I really had to stick to the

film. I was told off by one viewer yesterday. She came up to me and

screenplay, but in rehearsal we did quite a lot of improvisation and I

said, ‘I really liked Fine, Totally Fine, but now you’ve made a more

took some ideas from that.”

commercial film this time. I didn’t like it. You need to go back and

Keep On QuirKing

make more quirky movies.’ That’s just one person’s opinion but next time I’ll aim for a wide audience while keeping the niche viewers

Having made three feature films over a period of six years, and

too, mixing both together.” Mix it up yourself when Fuku-Chan Of

one made-for-TV movie, Fujita is determined to hone and refine

Fukufuku Flats comes to DVD on 13 July from Third Window Films.

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A trio of awesome cosplayers pose for our cameraman!

Expo Exposé They came in numbers so vast their shadows swallowed up the land. This mighty horde descended upon Excel London, drawn by the siren’s call of three full days of fun and entertainment. NEO was there to bear witness to the cosplayers, crowds and creativity of the London MCM Comic Con! WORDS BY DaviD WeSt A TruLy EpiC 122,634 people passed through the doors of the

the Earth. Other famous faces included mecha artist extraordinaire

MCM London Comic Con this May. That’s basically an entire town.

Hidetaka Tenjin (look out for our interview with the king of mecha art

And the throng of attendees meant that the previous record of over

next issue!), and The X-Files star Gillian Anderson on a panel for the

110,000 people, only set in October, was forced to relinquish its crown.

new movie Robot Overlords. Filmmaker Jon Schnepp was there for the

Saturday was completely sold out and boy, it was wall-to-wall bodies

uK premiere of his documentary The Death Of Superman Lives: What

in Excel London. personal space was at a very high premium. Let’s just

Happened? about Tim Burton’s ill-fated Superman movie, the cast and

say, some people should pack more deodorant. Or any at all…

creative team behind the BBC’s adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s brilliant

The joint was packed – the line to meet cosplay stars Jessica Nigri and Kelly Jean stretched so far you could see the curvature of

fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell had a panel of their own on Saturday, and cosplay idol Vampy Bit Me was there as a special guest of the streaming site Viewster, picking out lucky passers-by for interviews. The standard of cosplay at the event is frequently jawdropping, from a hulking Warhammer Space Marine to Bender from Futurama walking the hall. And it’s always great to see whole families in cosplay. As the old saying goes, the family that cosplays together is the subject of confused gossip amongst their neighbours.

Vendor Splendor The packed hall was good news for vendors like Jpu records, whose biggest seller was their exclusive SCANDAL: Greatest Hits CD. “We sold more of it over the weekend than the girls did at their sold-out London show,” says Jpu’s Tom Smith. “i was surprised how many people wanted Goose House CDs, a band i was unfamiliar with. And

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Send in your cosplay photos from the weekend to mail@neomag.co.uk!

JPU Records, home of SCANDAL.

also how many people confused Joe inoue’s Me! Me! Me! for the

Hunter 4 Ultimate with special tutorials for newbies. NiS America had

raunchy single from Teddy Loid with the same name.”

two new games from Japan in the form of Rodeo The Sky Soldier (see

There were video games galore. Bandai Namco Entertainment gave fans their very first chance to have a bash at upcoming titles

the news section for more info!) and the tongue twisting Danganronpa: Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls.

like Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, J-Stars Victory VS+,

The Comic Village was bigger and busier than ever. All our

Godzilla, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, Tales of Zestiria, and Project

favourite anime friends were there – Manga Entertainment, Anime

CARS as well as the recently released Dragon Ball Xenoverse. Warner

Ltd (who had a special Kill La Kill promotion just for the event), MVM

Bros. brought out LEGO Jurassic World and Mortal Kombat X, while

and new guys Animatsu. Then there were all the toys, action figures,

offering a tantalising glimpse at Arkham Knight in their screening area.

manga of every conceivable genre (seriously, where else have you ever

Tecmo Koei were all about the action with Deception IV: The Nightmare

seen so much yaoi in one place?) plus fashion, dakimakura pillows, and

Princess, Toukiden: Kiwami and Samurai Warriors 4-II, while Nintendo

enough replica swords to re-enact the Battle Of Helms Deep. Frankly,

staged a series of multiplayer matches featuring Mario Kart 8, Super

we’re shattered. But it was worth it. Don’t miss out: head to www.

Smash Bros and Splatoon, while letting fans have a crack at Monster

mcmcomiccon.com/london to book for October!

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The Road to MCM Comic Con The level of talent invested in the UK convention scene is incredible. NEO asked cosplayer Stacey Rebecca and artist Sonia Leong to give us a glimpse into their preparations in the months leading up to the UK’s biggest biannual event!

October 2014

Stacey Rebecca

Another MCM done and dusted. I am exhausted but better start planning for May – it comes around quicker than you think!

November 2014

I am so excited that Nyssa is back in Arrow season three – she is one of my favourite kickass female characters. I have to start work tography © Sonesh Joshi Pho

on her gorgeous costume immediately!

January 2015

Identifying some of Nyssa’s costume pieces is driving me insane; where do they find these fabrics?! Luckily one of my fans found me the perfect pleather – long live the internet!

February 2015

Shooting my new Lola Bunny costume with my

There’s always time for an Expo selfie!

Stacey poses for a shoot with Paranoid Android.

friend Lucas Ambrosio. Hoping to have lots of new cool prints this year!

April 2015

NEO have asked me to sign at their stand – super excited to have a spot where fans can say hi. Hugs for everyone!

9 May 2015

I have friends coming over for board games © Paranoid Android Films

tonight but I am so behind on Nyssa, not long to go now!

15 May 2015

One week before MCM and my Nyssa costume is finished! There are a couple things I’d like to upgrade but now I’m off to meet the Arrow cast at a convention in Birmingham.

21 May 2015

Transporting a huge compound bow across London is a nightmare – hopefully everything makes it there in one piece!

22 – 24 May 2015

The MCM Comic Con is finally here! It’s crazy busy but MCM has really stepped up its game this year – there’s so much to see and do. It was great to see so many friendly faces. The Batmobile from Arkham Knight is my favourite thing from the whole weekend. I’m super stoked for this game!!

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26 October 2014

Sonia Leong

An amazing time at MCM Comic Con selling my books at the Sweatdrop Studios stall, giving Manga workshops at NEO’s stand and press sessions at the Toyota stand where I posed with a cosplay from the Aygo Manga I drew for them!

6 December 2014

Created some hand-embellished bookmarks to slip into Christmas cards this year featuring the two main characters from a light novel I wrote, A Brush With Magic.

20 January 2015

Did some filming with Chameleon markers for a video tutorial colouring an Elven scholar from start to finish (https://vimeo.com/117549736). She’s another character in my light novel. Itching to work on this project properly!

19 February 2015

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Wooden Goat.

Happy Chinese New Year!

15 March 2015

March is madness as it’s World Book Week, so schools around the world want me all at the same time. I’ve had a whirlwind tour from Bangkok, to London, Prague, Vienna, back to London, then Shanghai in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS. Going to collapse now...

Sonia’s Elven scholar.

31 March 2015

Announcing that I will be releasing A Brush With Magic for London MCM Comic Con in May! I’ve been beavering away the past few months. I hope I spot all the mistakes before it goes to print!

7 April 2015

I can’t believe how much I get done when I’m unleashed on my own story! I think I can release a full colour artbook at the same time! I’m calling it The Colours Of Magic.

15 May 2015

KYAAA, my books arrived from the printers! They are GORGEOUS, I cannot believe how beautifully they turned out!

Sonia in Prague for World Book Week.

22 May 2015

Driving to London with my books packed in the back of the car. So grateful for the publicity from NEO Magazine and the MCM Show Guide. Fingers crossed it goes well...

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©HEADGEAR / BANDAI VISUAL / TOHOKUSHINSHA

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ANIMe’s RetRO ARMy The country’s anime shelves are under attack by an army of retro releases! Andrew Osmond speaks to those in the know about our golden oldie invaders. YOU KNOW SOMETHING’S come of age when it’s old enough to

Of course, not all old anime titles are viable for release, so which

have a ‘retro’ category. If you date the UK anime scene from Akira’s

ones are worth bringing back? “I’d say ones where you believe there is

release in 1991, then it’s now coming up to its quarter-century, and

a modern relevance,” says Partridge. “Either works that did very well

retro is in. We’ve just had two golden oldies from Studio Gainax: The

when released at first, or works which attained cult or mainstream

Wings of Honneamise and Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. They were

status but fell off the map for some reason, or projects that somehow

made in Japan in 1987 and 1990, but they’re new again on British

resonate with today’s fans. Anime that were ahead of their time, or

shelves. This month sees the release of Patlabor OVA Series 2: The

which used contemporary topics, or which have aged well.”

New Files, also from 1990. Still to come are Anime Limited’s reissues of Gankutsou: The Count of Monte Cristo, from the class of 2004, and

gROwINg Old gRAceFUlly

The Vision of Escaﬂowne, from 1996.

MVM Entertainment has released several ‘retro’ anime. However,

By the standards of 21st century media, the ‘80s and ‘90s are the

its director Tony Allen says he rarely has a specific plan to release

Stone Age. Indeed, it seems a funny time for anime marketers to be

older titles. “The only ones I can think of are Ranma½ (now expired)

delving into anime’s past, when there’s so much present to deal with.

and FLCL (from 2000). I purposefully went after FLCL as it seemed

Thanks to simulcasting, there are hours of brand new anime at our

a classic that had been missed, probably because it was made by

fingertips each week, not to mention many new DVDs and Blu-rays,

Gainax and they can be a bit quirky to deal with. I have to renew

carrying far more episodes than they used to. And anime fandom is a

FLCL every year and they refuse to have a contract in English! With

young demographic. Heck, many of today’s anime fans weren’t born

Patlabor, I did it as an exercise in tandem with (the Aussie distributor)

when Nadia and Escaﬂowne were first broadcast!

Madman and to stay on good terms with the Japanese licensor with

Of course, that’s one reason why British anime companies rerelease old anime today; so that younger fans have a chance to see

whom I had other interests.” One interesting case of an anime which looks like a strategic retro

them. Andrew Partridge of Anime Limited says the company looks

release, but isn’t really, is the South American adventure Michiko and

at older anime and asks two questions. “Do we love the show, and do

Hatchin. MVM released it this year, seven years after it first aired in

we want others to see what we like about it?” He says reissuing new

Japan in 2008. You might think the show was picked up because its

titles is a labour of love, “whether it’s a legacy project that is going to

female director, Sayao Yamamoto, has become better-known in the

sell well when restored for release, or a smaller title that never had

intervening years; she went onto Lupin the Third: The Woman Called

the exposure.”

Fujiko Mine. In fact, explains Allen, it just shows how long it takes to

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Remade for the next-gen: Sailor Moon Crystal.

It only looks retro: Michiko and Hatchin.

Were you born before Escaflowne? land a licence. “I was trying to acquire Michiko and Hatchin since

and Dragon Ball are being made in Japan, encouraging interested

it was presented to me at MIPCOM (a trade fair), many years ago. It’s

youngsters to check out the originals too. Anime may offer ‘new’

not that I looked up an old title; it’s just that it took ages to pin down.

product each TV season, but the industry depends, creatively and

The UK rights ended up with France and then I sub-licensed it.”

commercially, on repackaging its past. Think of recent anime: Sailor

Michiko and Hatchin looks more attractive than the average TV anime, and its good looks shield it commercially from wear and tear. The anime which age best are often the big-budget, cinematic ones,

Moon Crystal or Gundam – The Origin, not to mention The Heroic Legend of Arslan, which revisits a property first animated in the ‘90s. Annoyingly, there are times when the Japanese rights-holders

frequently made for cinema. The Ghibli films are obvious cases –

seem determined to remake the classics while keeping British anime

several date back to the ‘80s. Studio Canal even sells two pre-Ghibli

fans away from the originals, as in the case of Evangelion. Forget the

films by Takahata and Miyazaki, The Little Norse Prince (1968) and

movies; the 1995 TV show is one of the most requested ‘old’ titles by

Castle of Cagliostro (1979). The latter features the hero thief Lupin the

British fans, but there’s been no UK edition since ADV’s DVD in the

Third, who also stars in The Secret of Mamo (1978), one of the oldest

early noughties. It’s a similar case with the magnificent 1994 OVA,

anime released by Manga Entertainment.

Macross Plus. This had a noughties DVD from Manga Entertainment

Old Is New AgAIN

and then… nothing, thanks to the legal messes bedevilling the

More recently, Anime Limited’s Wings of Honneamise blew away reviewers. (We said admiringly that it looked ‘mighty fine’ on Blu-

AccIdeNtAlly RetRO

ray.) Then there’s the holy cinema trio from Manga: Akira (1998),

Of course, as we saw with Michiko and Hatchin, releases are

Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Ninja Scroll (1993). Of course, there was

often ‘retro’ because it takes so blooming long to acquire them!

a sacrilegious bid to update Ghost in the Shell with CG in the “2.0”

Mazandarani raises the case of the linked fantasy shows A Certain

version in 2008. However, it speaks volumes that last year’s Ghost

Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun. They were broadcast

Steelbook carried the original film, not the CG update.

between 2008 and 2011 in Japan, but have only just been picked up

“Some anime films and series are perennials that continue to

Macross brand.

for a British release. “I guess they’re not that old, but the rights are tied

sell,” says Jerome Mazandarani. He oversaw Ghost’s release when he

up in some very complicated legal situations, because Geneon was

was at Manga and brought out Nadia for Animatsu. “Look at Dragon

acquired by NBC Universal and then by Comcast.”

Ball Z. It came out on DVD for the first time in the UK nearly ten years

Mazandarani also notes that many of the other titles that fans

after its American release, and it’s one of Manga’s best ever selling

request are titles that from Manga’s early years, such as AD Police and

franchises.” Dragon Ball Z dates to 1989; Manga also released the

Genocyber. It’s easy to see these as nostalgic requests, from fans who

previous Dragon Ball series, from 1986.

remember these anime from 20 years ago. However, Mazandarani

Of course, nostalgia plays a part with DBZ. It was one of the seminal titles which got a generation of British fans “into” anime, thanks to its TV screenings on Cartoon Network. Many fans who saw

argues that the continuing popularity of Akira, Ghost in the Shell or Cowboy Bebop is not down to nostalgic fans. On the contrary, Mazandarani says bullishly, Akira and co, “broke

it then would want revisit it on DVD. For similar nostalgic reasons, you

through the fandom barrier and crossed over into the mainstream.

can buy DVDs of ‘80s kids’ anime such as Ulysses 31 and Mysterious

Any anime that can do that achieves perennial status and will

Cities of Gold. And nostalgia must surely boost the sales of Akira,

continue to sell. Attack on Titan will end up joining this exclusive club.”

GITS and Ninja Scroll, all fan gateway titles in the ‘90s. Producers work to keep such brands alive through sequels and remakes. As of writing, new animated versions of Ghost in the Shell

That’s fighting talk! Over to you, NEO readers… Would anyone else like to guess which anime of the 2010s will be celebrating their anniversary retro releases in 2030?

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MANGA EXTRACT

Birds of a Feather by Morag Lewis This issue we have an extract of Birds of a

Feather, a mini murder mystery by sweatdrop’s

Morag Lewis. “Birds of a Feather is a standalone comic, and is not directly connected to any of my other series,” she tells us. “it’s been a short, fun and slightly crazy interlude in the longer-term work i normally do. “The plot features Chiamaka, Vigilate of the Night watch, who is presented with the body of Rayyan the thief one morning. it is immediately clear that he was murdered. Chiamaka starts off with one suspect, Rayyan’s wife, and is led onto another fairly quickly, Rayyan’s lawyer, both of whom feature in this extract. it is a short mystery, and this extract covers slightly more than half the story, featuring the discovery of the body and the interrogation of the two potential suspects. My intent with the story was to set it up so that after Chiamaka has spoken to the two suspects and a few other people, it’s possible to work out who is responsible. Possible, but hard. i don’t know yet whether i succeeded in that aim! “i listen to a lot of murder mysteries when drawing, actually. They’re very involving and fun. i’ve wanted to write one for some time (and Sun Fish Moon Fish, one of my longer comics, is at least in part a murder mystery), but i’ve always been a little nervous of a long, complex tale. however, recently i went to a murder mystery evening with friends, where the mystery was presented simply and well in the space of an evening, and i realised i could take the same approach with a comic – and i really wanted to try it.” You can purchase this 17 page short story through the sweatdrop studios shop (http://www.sweatdrop.com/shop/). Morag is also currently working on her ongoing webcomic, A Pocketful of Clouds, and on a fantasy comic called Trade Winds, which she hopes to be able to print as a graphic novel later this year. Find her online at her website www.toothycat. net, at the manga collective www.sweatdrop.com and also at moraglewis.tumblr.com. Now enjoy this extract from the short story!

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Reviews INDEPENDENT, FAIR AND HONEST

PAGE

072 REVIEW SCORE INDEX

PAGE

074

PAGE

079

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084

072 074 075 076 078 078 079 080 081 081 082 083 083 084

One Piece Film: Z Naruto 21 Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy RWBY Bleach 15:1 Splatoon Concrete Clouds K-On!! Samurai Bride Last Knights Patlabor Mobile Police OVA 2 Log Horizon Part 2 Ys Chronicles Black Coal, Thin Ice

★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★★

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29/05/2015 15:24

@Jbarnes532 @neO_Magazine @MangaUK One Piece is popular, but i find parts of it a bit strange. #neO138

One Piece Film: Z

luffy and his pals have an armani makeover Available: now Label: Manga Certificate: 12 Discs: 1 Retail Price: £19.99 (DVD) / £24.99 (Blu-ray) Running Time: 108 mins

Sailing the high seas of the new World, luffy and the Straw hat Pirates find an unconscious form floating on a piece of debris. at Chopper’s urging they bring him on board and nurse his wounds. Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished – the man they rescued from a salty demise is Z, founder of the neo-Marines and a man who burns with an all-consuming hatred for pirates. Worse yet, Z fights with a mechanical arm he calls Battle Smasher that is made from Sea Prism Stone, a substance that negates the powers of Devil Fruit users like luffy. given a sound thrashing by Z and his fleet of neo-Marines, the Straw hat Pirates have to flee with their tails between their legs to escape utter destruction. But Z makes one fatal mistake

“It was produced in association with the fashion label Armani, so cue the Straw Hat Pirates getting gussied up in some fancy new threads. That’s kind of amazing and also bonkers.”

threads. that’s kind of amazing and also bonkers. how many cartoon characters get designer label makeovers? the closing titles feature avril lavigne performing covers of nickelback’s How You Remind Me and Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation. Whether that’s a bonus or not probably depends on your enthusiasm for Canadian songstresses, but it makes it clear this is one anime feature with some serious clout behind it. the production values are notably higher than the ongoing series. Battle scenes are busy with detailed animation and great swathes of nameless lackeys to be clobbered. Z’s opening assault upon the Marines, with bodies flying through the air with every blow, instantly recalls games like Dynasty Warriors and the One Piece: Pirate Warriors series. the script by Osamu Suzuki has to juggle quite a lot of information and characters, but there are all the usual One Piece elements present and correct. On the latter front, there’s the ubiquitous plot device of luffy fighting his way through a swathe of opponents and confronting the end of level boss figure just to reclaim his beloved

when he takes luffy’s precious hat with him. no

hat. and of course the Straw hat Pirates have to

one takes luffy’s hat and gets away with it. no one.

rebound from an early defeat, lick their wounds,

One Piece Film: Z is the 12th feature outing

and rise to the challenge posed by their powerful

for luffy, and the first one set in the new World, after the crew has left the grand line behind. it is certainly a big budget affair by One Piece standards. it was produced in association with the fashion label armani, so cue the Straw hat Pirates getting gussied up in some fancy new

new opponents. Regarding the former, it makes a

EXTRAS

English or Japanese dialogue with subtitles. No extras. (What? No text-free Avril Lavigne?)

nice change to see luffy’s opponent given plenty of time to develop their backstory and personality. When the story begins, it takes a while for Z’s role to become clear, as there is no preamble to the first appearance of his neo-Marines (or neo-navy in

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the subtitles), and since Z fights both the regular

scarred Z risks destroying everything in his quest

Marines and pirates with equal zest, he doesn’t

for revenge. it’s difficult to know how the creators

fit quite so neatly into the hero / villain paradigm

intend viewers to read Z’s final fate as he embraces

as most of luffy’s foes. as gradually becomes

the inevitably of his own annihilation with relish.

clear, Z has good reason for hating all pirates and

that’s an unsettling message, the sort of idea that

plotting their eradication, but of course the series’

appealed to historical hardliners like Yukio Mishima,

sympathies always lie with luffy in the end.

who killed himself by cutting his stomach open after

that’s a little bit of a problem. luffy never blinks

Luffy has faced tough opponents before, but he may have met his match in the NeoMarines.

a failed attempt to launch a coup, and the same

in the animation. his fixed, wide-eyed stare and tiny,

mind-set that produced suicidal kamikaze attacks

contracted pupils make him look demented – or out

in World War ii. Self-destruction is the act of the

of his mind on drugs – and it doesn’t help matters

fanatic, not something to be admired or applauded.

that many of his personality traits fit the profile of

inTRoDucing

Director tatsuya nagamine doesn’t shy away

a psychopath to a tee. he’s constantly boasting,

from the fanservice possibilities afforded by the

impulsive, has a huge ego (“i’m going to be King Of

female characters – there are repeated lingering

the Pirates!”), he’s a juvenile delinquent, displays

shots of nami’s generous bust as she sunbathes in

no empathy for the people he beats up or who

a bikini. nami’s fans may be disappointed to learn

die fighting the Straw hat Pirates, needs constant

that due to the powers of one of Z’s lieutenants, a

excitement, and relishes his status as a wanted

lithe neo-Marine called ain, she is reverse-aged

criminal. it’s doubtful that was eiichiro Oda’s intent

back to a child, temporarily depriving viewers of

when creating the character, but it’s disturbing just

her bountiful assets. take heart though. in the

how precisely luffy fits the specifications, and the

grand finale, the equally well-endowed nico Robin

screenplay here offers plenty of evidence to bear

charges into battle in what appears to be her finest

out that unflattering diagnosis. Z’s plan to wipe out

lingerie. as you do.

The massive and imposing leader of the Neo-Marines is a man driven by the need for retribution against the pirates who wrought misery upon him in the past. But before going rogue, Z was known as Black Arms Zephyr, a decorated Marine Admiral.

piracy could simultaneously kill everyone in the new World and that’s why the Marines want to stop him,

VERDICT: the latest One Piece movie is action-

but luffy explicitly states he is not interested in any

packed, loud and full of bosoms and explosions.

of that stuff. he just wants his hat back. Yikes.

DAviD WEST

there’s also a strong streak of nihilism running through the film. the emotionally and physically

if you likE ThiS... Do you need more Luffy action in your life? Catch up on his past movie adventures with the three One Piece collections that cover the first nine movies, then pay a visit to the monsterfilled island of Strong World.

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ANIME HHHHH

BinS

One of the toughest members of Z’s loyal band of Neo-Marines, Bins has the power to control plants using his Mosa-Mosa dance. He can ensnare his enemies in tangling vines, allowing Ain to get close enough to use her age-reversing powers on her target.

29/05/2015 16:36

Naruto Shippuden Box Set 21 Ninja War! What is it good for? Available: 6 July Label: Manga Certificate: 12 Discs: 2 Retail Price: £24.99 Running Time: 325 mins Episodes: 12

This arc indulges the impulse that every fan feels – which is to wonder: “who would win in a battle between these two characters?” The best way to find out, of course, is in an arc like this; a tumultuous tussle with shades of Battle Royale, in which protagonists are matched against their polar opposites, friend is forced to battle with friend, and old grudge matches are revisited. While the trope of resurrecting old enemies so that the protagonists can fight them all over again might feel a little forced at first, you can’t argue with results, and the results of this plot point are a return to the strategic and technical battle scenes

The FourTh GreaT Ninja War is about to break out, and forces from

that Naruto is best known for – although with a lot of supplementary

around the ninja globe are assembled with the objective of taking out

flashbacks thrown in. as ever, Naruto brings its best animation to the big

the evil cult akatsuki (what’s left of them) in the build-up to Naruto’s final

conflicts, and these are no exception.

arc. unfortunately, the alliance between the five villages of tempestuous

While the episodes included in this box set, as mentioned, set the

shinobi is a little strained, and things go from bad to worse when they

stage for a truly epic arc to come, the major drawback of the set is its

discover that serpentine scientist and amateur necromancer Kabuto has

length. at 12 episodes, it doesn’t feel like much more than a bite-size

used his master’s forbidden jutsu to resurrect the best of the deceased

portion, and the relatively slow start to the arc doesn’t help much.

ninja all-stars. The amassed heroes and antiheroes will have to tangle

Fans will definitely be fully engaged by the time this instalment draws

with some famous figures from the annals of ninja history, as well as

to a close, but looking back, you might end up feeling like the set-up

some familiar faces brought back to fight against their will.

promised more than you got out of these dozen episodes.

The 12 episode box set starts out midway through a bunch of

however, these episodes of Naruto cannot be missed. There are a lot

flashback filler episodes that take place around proceedings so far

more loose ends to be tied up in the story – and surely many more ninja

back in the series’ history that they can’t quite measure up to the raised

brawls to be had – but this is a great beginning to what is definitely going

stakes and power levels of the latest events. But luckily, things quickly

to be one of the most climactic final arcs in the history of anime.

move back to the main storyline to introduce the major players in the upcoming Ninja War. Though it takes a little while to get moving, viewers

VERDICT: It’s a little light on content, but the start to this highly-

will be hooked once the conflict picks up speed, and though it just

anticipated arc will definitely leave you wanting more.

gets started in these episodes, the Ninja War is shaping up to be one of

Jacob boniface

Shippuden’s best arcs thus far. one of Naruto’s strong points has always been its diverse cast of ninja and their various power sets, and seeing these clash is as fun as it ever was. With Naruto still on his secretive training mission, these episodes bring a lot of fan favourites back into the

eXTRaS

None confirmed. The episodes are available in Japanese with subtitles or dubbed in English.

spotlight, and even relatively new secondary characters are given their chance to kick some undead shinobi butt.

ANIME HHHHH

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Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy Growing up is hard to do for one thai teen Available: now Label: Day For night Certificate: 15 Discs: 2 Retail Price: tBc Running Time: 127 mins

of the new school headmaster who makes himself the centre of the curriculum, but the tone turns surprisingly dark in the second half. While Mary’s tweets seem as innocuous as ever when read in isolation, thamrongrattanarit’s script means they become loaded with ever greater meaning, lending them unexpected poignancy. What emerges is a powerful coming-of-age story addressing the loss of innocence that accompanies major life events. the two leads are very strong. Patcha Poonpiriya is note perfect

Mary (Patcha PoonPiriya) is approaching her high school

as Mary, making her both needy and vulnerable. She can seem terribly

graduation, but she’s not looking forward to the prospect of her best

young when confronted by her teachers about her lack of progress on

friend Suri (chonnikan netjui) heading off to university in austria.

the yearbook, but she’s still wily and strong willed enough to be able to

then there’s the matter of trying to find out if her crush M (Vasuphon

cajole Suri into joining her schemes. chonnikan netjui’s Suri is the more

Kriangprapakit) likes her or not. What she’s actually supposed to be

mature and grounded of the duo, less afraid of the future than her best

doing is putting together the yearbook for her graduating class, but

friend and altogether more practical and pragmatic. When Mary is

that’s the last thing on her mind.

busy pondering aloud whether all actions in life are predetermined or

Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy is the second feature from thai director nawapol thamrongrattanarit and, as is revealed in the credits,

the result of free will, Suri typically tells her to shut up. the film is shot in an unfussy, naturalistic style. Most scenes appear

is based upon the “original tweets by Mary Maloney”. these tweets,

to employ the natural, available light, and the camerawork is typically

mostly in thai but occasionally in English, pop up on screen throughout

handheld, but unobtrusively so. Basing a feature around a teenager’s

the film, and their thoroughly random nature, particularly at the outset,

tweets could have resulted in self-indulgent navel gazing, but Mary Is

mean that at times the movie hops about like a grasshopper – one

Happy is deeper than 140 characters.

moment Mary is in school, the next she’s reclining in France with the Eiffel tower in the background. But slowly, a story asserts itself, mainly

VERDICT: Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy takes a little time to settle

dealing with Mary’s struggle to face her impending graduation and the

down, but Mary is an engaging protagonist whose constant tweets

implicit transition from childhood to adulthood. So her impulsive desire

gradually become rather hypnotic. a poignant ode to the trials and

to order jellyfish on the internet, or to sneak out of school to have cake

delights of being a teenager in a connected world.

with Suri seems less scattershot and more indicative of a youngster

DaviD West

enjoying their final chance to be irresponsible.

eXtRas

the style is often self-aware – when Suri finds Mary gazing wistfully into the distance with a cigarette in her mouth, she scolds her:“What the **** are you doing? this is no time for Wong Kar-

Thai audio with English subtitles. The release includes Thamrongrattanarit’s experimental debut titled 36, which was unavailable for review.

Wai. you don’t even smoke.” there’s a recurring gag about Mary’s knockoff iPhone constantly electrocuting her, and the ludicrous rules

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@TheNekoNextDoor @neO_Magazine ...the hype for the #rWBy DVD collection is real. ^_^

RWBY Volume 1 (It’s pronounced ruby...) Available: 29 June Label: animatsu Certificate: 15 Discs: 1 Retail Price: £12.99 (DVD) / £15.99 (Blu-ray) Running Time: 110 mins Episodes: 16

choreography is RWBY’s strongest asset, and blows a lot of even veteran series’ set-pieces out of the water. the series isn’t very long, with a handful of short episodes, and unfortunately this doesn’t leave much room to develop the characters or the setting. however, volume one of RWBY feels more like a testing of the waters, and it’s clear from this first collection that it has a great deal of potential beyond even the highly enjoyable first episodes. though the second season has already been produced, there was some uncertainty about the series’ future when director

In the faIry-tale world of remnant, folklore characters do battle

Oum tragically passed away earlier this year. thankfully, a third

with the shadowy Creatures of Grimm – but of course, they have to

season is now confirmed to be in the works.

go to monster-fighting high school first! ruby, Weiss, Blake and yang

as mentioned, RWBY has a writing style that pulls inspiration

are four students of said establishment, and despite their disparate

from a variety of different sources, mediums, and story archetypes.

personalities, they must work together to become a lean, mean,

there are a lot of risks involved when creating a series that wears its

multi-coloured monster-slaying team.

influences right on its sleeve. Often, it can be all too easy for a show

RWBY is produced by US studio rooster teeth, who were

to do nothing but ape the things that serve as an initial spark without

previously best known for their live-action shorts, machinima, and

bringing anything new to the table. luckily, RWBY manages to avoid

gaming videos. the artefacts of all of these mediums are readily

this by retaining a savviness about its genre tropes – you can tell that

apparent in this series, with its cel-shaded 3D graphics, action-

the writers (and often even the characters) aren’t taking things too

oriented animation style, quick dialogue, and goofy slapstick.

seriously, and the result is a short but sweet series that doesn’t resort

It’s clear from the first few scenes that RWBY was created with fewer resources than a lot of the series that we’re used to seeing,

to melodrama to promote itself. If nothing else, diehard action fans owe it to themselves to check

even on the small screen. the brightly coloured cel-shading definitely

out this small but almost perfectly formed gem – and almost all

looks original, but at times the animation feels a little stiff. though

viewers will find themselves charmed by the familiar but original

the series gamely attempts to compensate for its shortcomings by

characters and plot.

increasing the pace of the script’s genuinely charming back-andforth, the lack of small body language movements do leave these

VERDICT: It’s not without its shortcomings, but RWBY volume one is a

sections feeling slightly off.

promising opening salvo for the series.

however – and this is a big however – when the series shifts into action mode, it suddenly pulls out all the stops to provide the viewer

Jacob boniface

with some truly explosive, high-octane scenes. Monty Oum, director

eXTRaS

of the series, first made a name for himself with elaborate animated

Behind the scenes videos, fan art highlights, and director’s commentary.

battles between video game characters of different franchises, using models and assets from the games themselves. this focus on action

ANIME HHHHH

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Bleach Series 15:1

Phantasmagorical Phoneys! Available: now Label: Manga entertainment Certificate: 15 Discs: 3 Retail Price: £29.99 Running Time: 300 mins Episodes: 12

Splatoon ink-redibly Fun Available: now Console: Wii U Certificate: 7 Retail Price: £34.99 Publisher: nintendo Developer: nintendo eAd Group no. 2

While the ArrAncAr arc has come to a close –in truly

nintendo iS Well-knoWn for favouring local experiences

spectacular fashion – there’s still plenty more Bleach action for all

when it comes to multiplayer, but its latest release, Splatoon, is the

you zanpakutou zealots, thanks to this new 12 episode box set from

most refreshing and original take we’ve seen on the online team-

Manga entertainment!

based shooter genre for quite some time.

After his debilitating scrap with über-baddie Aizen, some

rather than spraying each other with bullets, the weapon

episodes past, ichigo is attempting to live a quiet life, or at least as

of choice here is brightly coloured ink. Although it certainly

quiet a life as you can lead when fighting restless spirit monsters is

helps to take down the enemy with a well aimed splat from your

part of your daily routine (we know, it can be tough, but at least you

watergun-like weapon, the main aim of turf Wars, the game’s

get in your cardio). Unfortunately, that’s thrown out the window

principle online mode, is to control as much of the map as possible

when a mysterious figure initiates a plot to turn the most powerful

within three minutes. this is achieved by spraying the ground with

denizens of Soul Society against each other, by creating evil copies

the aforementioned ink, which also serves as a nifty means of

of top shinigami. And of course, in true Bleach fashion, everyone’s

transportation: at the touch of a button, your humanoid character

answer to the problem is to fight everyone in sight first, and ask

will transform into a squid, which can glide at quite a lick across

questions later – if at all. how can we complain when it makes for so

any land painted in its team’s colour, as well as being able to hide

many great action scenes?

beneath it for stealth purposes. despite the disappointingly small

While Bleach’s single-episode filler stories can often be a little

number of maps and modes (though more of both are promised

hit-and-miss, it can still engage with an arc full of striking swordplay,

as regular, free dlc updates), we had a real blast with Splatoon

and that’s exactly what these episodes take us into. Although it

online – its unique gameplay truly has that ‘one more go’ factor.

doesn’t quite deliver the huge hits of the last big fights, it doesn’t

coupled with a short but sweet single player experience that’s

feel anticlimactic, and it’s well-placed in the series, being parked in a

based on some clever puzzle-based obstacle courses, Splatoon is a

natural lull in the manga’s storyline rather than clumsily interrupting

release that’s well worth your time, and it’s pretty good value, too.

an ongoing story as filler arcs have done in the past. if you’ve stuck with Bleach for the first 14 seasons, then it’s

VERDICT: even without its future expansions, there’s a lot to

probably safe to say that you’re ready for more, and this season has

love about Splatoon. dive on in – the ink is lovely!

everything you could want from the series – namely, a gaggle of

Michael DoDson

battle-happy spirits whacking each other with swords, and looking great doing it.

GAME HHHHH

VERDICT: An interesting new arc that takes the series back to basics after the climactic previous series. if you’re a Bleach fan, be assured this continues in the excellent tradition of the show.

Jacob boniface

extras None confirmed. The episodes are available in Japanese with subtitles or dubbed in English.

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Concrete Clouds

human connections amongst towering stone Available: 26 June Label: Day For night Certificate: 15 Release: theatrical Running Time: 99 mins

used in present day scenes contrasts greatly with brighter flashback sequences of somewhat more hopeful times, accenting the grittiness of both the ongoing story and the emotional turmoil faced by the characters. however, while the use of hand-held camerawork mostly succeeds in increasing the feeling of realism, it has the opposite effect in more than one instance. the most noticeable example occurs as Mutt is informed by phone that his father is dead, with the camera repeatedly moving to an almost jarring degree and thus sharply pulling viewers away from the very immersion in ‘reality’ that it was

Set in the late ‘90s as financial turmoil ripped through Asia trampling

meant to achieve. Karaoke style musical segments complete with

all walks of life in its path, Lee Chatametikool’s feature directorial

thai subtitles that change colour in time with the song lyrics create

debut Concrete Clouds tells the story of two brothers, Mutt (Ananda

similar issues. Although in the early stages, these apparent sing-along

everingham) and nic (Prawith hansten), reunited in Bangkok following

‘invitations’ gently lighten the load of sombre narrative events in a

their father’s suicidal leap from his apartment building. the early stages

fairly quirky, kitschy manner, they equally detract from what is by far

here, in the immediate aftermath of his death, do meander somewhat

the most poignant scene of the entire film – focused on the character

as the film finds its feet, but gradually through the brothers’ efforts to

of Poupee – and that is frankly a shame. the point is certainly made,

find and keep love, the main narrative takes centre stage.

but with very minor changes it could have been all the more moving.

Mutt’s attempts to rekindle his relationship with ex-lover Sai

Concrete Clouds confidently tells a worthy story, and the few

(Janesuda Parnto) and nic’s besotted feelings for the somewhat

instances of themes being repeatedly stated without need, in

psychologically broken Poupee (Apinya Sakuljaroensuk) increasingly

dialogue or indeed narrative conclusion, can largely be put down to a

show the sometimes desperate need for human connection

first-time feature director ensuring beyond question that what he has

within communities fractured by ever-expanding cityscapes. the

to say is heard by all.

psychological price paid by those virtually forced by the city to view money as a god is underlined by passing references to drug use and

VERDICT: Lee Chatametikool’s directorial debut speaks of the need

prostitution as a means of emotional escape and physical survival.

to feel human-to-human connection within a concrete jungle that is

Of the two love affairs, nic and Poupee’s is by far the most

mired in financial turmoil and obsessed with expansion.

engaging, helped greatly by Sakuljaroensuk’s deeply nuanced

Paul Quinn

performance. She single-handedly makes the film’s ultimate statement on the importance of retaining a sense of self-worth

EXTRaS

without a word needing to be spoken.

Thai dialogue with English subtitles.

Cinematically, Concrete Clouds is fairly accomplished, albeit with a couple of caveats. the darker, subdued palette of colours

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K-On!! Season 2 girls just want to have fun Available: 15 June Label: Manga entertainment Certificate: 12 Discs: 4 Retail Price: £39.99 Running Time: 645 mins Episodes: 27

proving every bit as catchy as your average J-pop concoction, and others sounding more like something an average high school band might actually come up with. at times the pacing can feel clumsy, meaning episodes often either go rushing by at breakneck speed, or conversely never really get off the starting line. if you’re not a fan of the odd overly long and technical piece of musical exposition, then you’ll find yourself checking your watch on occasion, and, if you look too closely, there’s not really any

Light-hearted sLice of life comedy K-On!! centres on high

main narrative to speak of. Most episodes nonetheless include a self-

schoolers Yui, ritsu, tsumugi, Miu and azusa, otherwise known as

contained story-of-the-week that really hits the mark (for instance,

the band afterschool tea time. spending most of their time hanging

an excellent early episode when the girls sell their teacher’s old guitar

out at their school’s keion-bu (or ‘light music club’), their lives revolve

and quite literally get more than they bargained for), with only the

around their passion for music and performing. that is, at least,

occasional misfire. even when individual episodes are sparse on story,

when they aren’t being your typical teenage girls, eating cake or

they usually make up for this in pure comedy, as Yui and co. approach

procrastinating as they try to avoid thinking about their upcoming

even the most minimal problems with the over-the-top seriousness

graduation. Under the somewhat conflicted watch of their teacher

inherent in every teenage girl.

(and metal-loving former keion-bu member) sawako Yamanaka, the

the voice acting is excellent, with aki toyosaki (Yui) and satomi

girls must not only focus on kicking ass on stage, but also on what

satō (ritsu) particularly standing out, bringing an infectious sense

the future will hold once their school days are over. While the wealthy

of humour and innate likeability to characters that could very quickly

tsumugi and introverted Miu seem to have it all sorted out, air-headed

and easily have become annoying and repetitive. While the animation

Yui and self-appointed club president ritsu remain undecided, and

is fairly run-of-the-mill (including the occasional, jarring computer-

with final exams only a few months away, they don’t have long to make

animated sections), it’s this snappy yet compassionate banter between

up their minds.

the girls that ultimately sells this as a show worth watching.

following on from its break-out first season, K-On!! remains as

it’s by no means a perfect series, but the warmth and humour

entertaining and endearing as ever. the noticeably moe character

of K-On!! should thaw even the coldest of hearts. its well-balanced

designs, alongside the adorable friendships that the girls establish,

ensemble are always good for a laugh or ten, and when they aren’t

give the show an irresistible (if occasionally cloying) charm, and it

trying to make you giggle, they might just make you nostalgic for the

doesn’t do any harm that it’s often laugh-out-loud funny. Less High

high school band you wish you’d formed. if you’re already playing in a

School Musical, and more your typical high school drama, there’s

band, however, they’ll probably just make you feel better about your

actually surprisingly little music practice or performance from episode

own practice to procrastination ratio. or not, but we won’t judge.

to episode (a fact that youngest member of the group azusa doesn’t fail to point out, much to everyone else’s embarrassment). the focus instead falls on the girls themselves, their ever-evolving friendships,

EXTRAS

An option of English or Japanese audio, with optional English subtitles.

and the everyday scrapes and escapades they get drawn into. What original music is included can be hit-and-miss, with some songs

ANIME HHHHH

080 www.neomag.co.uk

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29/05/2015 19:04

Samurai Bride Complete Collection

Last Knights the Loyal 47 ronin take A european holiday Available: 29 June Label: signature entertainment Certificate: 15 Discs: 1 Retail Price: £19.99 (dVd) / £24.99 (Blu-ray) Running Time: 115 mins

Looks sharp, but it’s a little blunt Available: 6 July Label: manga Certificate: 15 Discs: 2 Retail Price: £24.99 (dVd) / £34.99 (Blu-ray) Running Time: 300 mins Episodes: 12

It’s Been A long wait for the english language debut of director Kazuaki Kiriya, who gave us the visual spectacles of Goemon and Casshern. In Last Knights, he tackles that most venerated

In the pseudo-modern world of Samurai Bride, no skill is valued

of Japanese stories, Chushingura – The Vendetta Of The Loyal

more highly than discipline with the blade. And of course, no one

47 Ronin. the setting is transposed from feudal Japan to an

is better with a blade than the scantily-clad girls of the Yagyuu

unnamed country in an ethnically diverse medieval europe

dojo. however, you wouldn’t know it to look at them, as they seem

where the noble and upstanding Lord Bartok (morgan Freeman)

to spend more time getting into compromising situations and

is provoked into drawing a sword on the greedy and corrupt

squabbling over love triangles than actual sword fighting. still, it

imperial advisor Gezza mott (Aksel hennie). After Bartok is

seems to have worked for them so far, except for the crushing debt

executed for this offence, his foremost retainer, the deadly

that they’ve found themselves in, forcing them to rebrand the dojo

swordsman raiden (Clive owen), retreats into drunkenness. But

as a maid café to make the requisite cash. oh, and there’s also a

is he drowning his sorrows or biding his time until he can exact

gang of resurrected samurai masters (who apparently share the

his revenge on mott?

same half-a-wardrobe with the Yagyuu dojo girls) that have been brought back to unleash an unspeakable horror upon the world. the first thing you’ll notice about Samurai Bride (apart from the

Anyone familiar with Chushingura knows the answer to that, so the film stands or falls on how eloquently it tells a well-worn tale. It helps that the leads are all very strong.

jiggling) is that it has a very unique visual style, with an interesting

Freeman brings an effortless gravitas to every scene, owen

ink-on-parchment motif to the scenery and effects, and bold line art

is a sanguine, brooding hero, and Aksel hennie makes a

for the characters. unfortunately, beyond the stylish art, it doesn’t

wonderfully reptilian nemesis.

have an awful lot to recommend it. the attempts to establish

the vigorous action scenes are crafted by Korean

humour tend to fall a little flat, and the story seems completely

stunt maestro Jung doo-hong, best known for his brilliant

focused on setting up over-the-top fanservice instead of providing

collaborations with ryoo seung-wan. owen does a lot of his

interesting developments for the plot or the characters. If you were

own fights and pulls them off with style. Visually, the overall

a fan of the original series, Samurai Girls, then you know what you’ll

aesthetic is much more naturalist than Goemon or Casshern, but

be getting here, but even devoted enthusiasts of the genre will be

the Czech republic locations provide a beautiful backdrop.

able to find better examples of these tropes elsewhere.

VERDICT: It lacks Goemon’s dazzle and softens Chushingura’s VERDICT: A disappointingly cliché series despite its visual flair. Jacob boniface

extras None confirmed. The episodes are available in Japanese with subtitles or dubbed in English.

ANIME HHHHH

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nihilism, but Last Knights is an entertaining, sword-slinging swashbuckler nonetheless.

DaviD West

extras English dialogue. No extra features.

FILM HHHHH

29/05/2015 14:07

OVA Series 2: The New Files Patlabor Mobile Police Disappointingly patchy Patlabor Available: 29 June Label: MVM Certificate: TBC Discs: 3 Retail Price: £29.99 Running Time: 400 mins Episodes: 16

throws the characters into a alien invasion, drawing on Macross and Ultraman. Like several of these episodes, it outstays its welcome. The big issue, though, is that these stories weren’t made to be seen on their own. They were supposed to be watched in between the TV episodes, as bonus extras; they’re ‘B’-stories, character pieces and filler fluff. in contrast to the action opening, they have no big stakes, no momentum. They’re also mostly not that good. some are just terribly thin, eking 20 minutes out of, say, heroine Noa’s toothache or her discovery of a foundling cat (though there’s mild amusement in seeing kitty being

This is a strange, lopsided collection of Patlabor stories, spun off from

destructive in the cockpit!). a weird ghost story goes nowhere, and

a version of Patlabor we never got in Britain. No, it’s not a sequel to the

has nothing really to do with Patlabor. Other stories start strongly, with

earlier OVas released by MVM. Rather, these video episodes were made

solid humorous situations. a kids’ TV host goes psycho; the male cops

to accompany a longer TV version of Patlabor, with its own continuity.

go starkers to hunt a terror suspect in a bathhouse. But the solidity is

if you’ve seen this series (available in america), then you can raise our

undercut when the action tips into indulgent slapstick and silliness. it

rating by a star; but if not, you’ll find this set a frustrating watch.

would work fine in Lupin; in Patlabor, the unbelievability spoils the stories.

The episodes are one-quarter action, three-quarters sitcom. The

The most interesting episodes are a satiric account of a workers’

action comes in the first four parts (of 16), which together comprise

mini-revolt, sparked when the proles lose their porn – it was written

an 80-minute story. and a very good story it is, in which the mecha-

by Mamoru Oshii! – and the better character stories. But the best

riding police face a devilishly strong robot adversary. This enemy is

episodes still raise issues. Even a delicate, mostly charming piece, in

supported not by political terrorists but by arms dealers advertising

which Patlabor’s captain Goto and his female counterpart shinobu

their wares… and more than one of our heroes have very personal

must spend the night in a love hotel, wobbles between tantalising and

stakes in the fight.

creepy. The last episode has a big character revelation for the fans…

it’s not perfect – some of the actual robot battles are disappointingly

but the set coasts too much on those fans’ good will.

ropey, even considering the anime’s age – but it’s lucid, pacey and exciting. But there’s still a problem. The story is a continuation of a

VERDICT: a fair bonus if you’ve seen the TV (not OVa) Patlabor.

plotline in the TV show, with frequent references to past events. Yes,

Otherwise it just doesn’t hold up.

it’s easy to follow if you know Patlabor’s world and characters from

Andrew OsmOnd

other versions, but it’s annoying to watch the end of a story knowing that you’ve missed the set-up. The set also gives a prominent role to a female team member called Kumagami, who was introduced in the TV episodes but isn’t in the other Patlabor anime.

eXTrAs

Unusually, this series is part-dubbed. The set includes the first four episodes in Japanese and English, and sub-only for the rest.

The other dozen stories are mostly comedies. a couple are sequels to stories in the TV Patlabor, including a spoof dream episode which

ANIME HHHHH

082 www.neomag.co.uk

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29/05/2015 14:07

Log Horizon

Part 2, Episodes 14-25

Ys Chronicles 1

Prepare to get bum rushed Available: now Platform: ios, android Retail Price: £3.99 Publisher: Dotemu Developer: Dotemu / Falcom

goblins rampage. be afraid. Mildly afraid. Available: now Label: MVM Certificate: Pg Discs: 2 Retail Price: £24.99 (DVD) / £29.99 (blu-ray) Running Time: 300 mins Episodes: 25

eVer wonDereD whaT would happen if the world of bumper cars and rPgs collided? 1987’s J-rPg Ys, and its plucky hero adol, have the answer! The game’s hero wakes up in a strange town and finds out (through the help of a fortune-teller) that he may be able to bring peace to the area… by bumping into its many monsters! while every other title in the genre at the time opted for turn-

The goblins are on the loose in the second instalment of Log

based fisticuffs, or the mashing of the action button to wallop an

Horizon from MVM entertainment, about a group of gamers who

opponent, Ys said “nope!” and introduced a method that involved

find themselves living in the virtual fantasy world of the MMorPg

using the D-pad to hurtle yourself towards enemies to cause

Elder Tales. This batch begins with a group of youngsters learning the

damage. if you smash into them in the centre, your hP bar will take a battering, but if you can find a way to bash into them enough times

importance of teamwork as they undertake their first dungeon raid,

at any other angle, they’ll eventually explode in a gooey mess of

but the star of the show remains shiro, the master strategist and

blood, gold and ever-so-sweet eXP. This unusual battle mechanic

leader of the log horizon guild.

has been revamped for touch screen, where it works surprisingly

if anything, the shortcomings of the first half of the series

well. You can flick away with ease, without worrying about any

are exacerbated this time around. The middle chunk of this set

clunky menu manipulation. it does take a bit of getting used to,

is devoted to dealing with an invasion of goblins, but that’s less

though. we had some trouble with the first boss, trying desperately

exciting on screen than it should be. action scenes are consistently

to avoid taking damage while also attempting to bump into the

short and underwhelming, a matter not helped by the stiff

beast, but what’s gaming without a challenge?

animation. and instead of monster mashing, most of the series is

if it gets a bit too much, there are four difficulty settings

filled up with long passages of exposition and characters debating

available, and you can also choose between “original Mode”,

what to do next. The stakes are lowered with the knowledge that

featuring the original music and classic character art, or “Chronicles

the adventurers are effectively immortal – anyone who dies in

Mode” with its modern bgM and cuter, more polished artwork.

combat returns to life in the cathedral of their home city. That’s a poor dramatic choice as it means there is nothing to lose when the

VERDICT: Classic rPg fun gets brought up to date with

characters leap into battle.

revamped graphics, sound and touch-screen controls!

once the goblin menace is vanquished, focus turns to a big

tom smith

festival in akihabara as two girls, Minori and akatsuki, compete for shiro’s attentions. it’s an odd state of affairs when a fantasy series

GAME HHHHH

works better as comedy instead of adventure.

VERDICT: Log Horizon excels at highly detailed world building, but is underweight in action and dramatic intensity.

DaviD West

extras English or Japanese dialogue with subtitles. Extras are the text-free opening and closing songs.

ANIME HHHHH

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29/05/2015 19:21

Black Coal, Thin Ice A modern chinese noir with a frozen heart Available: now Label: Studio canal Certificate: tBc Release: theatrical Running Time: 106 mins

In 1999, DetectIve Zhang Zili (Liao Fan) is investigating a murder case in which body parts from the same corpse have simultaneously turned up at coal power plants miles and miles apart from each other. the badly botched arrest of the prime suspects results in both Zhang getting shot and a body count that includes two of his colleagues. In the aftermath, he is dismissed from the force. Five years later, he’s working as a guard in a factory and generally wandering around in a drunken haze when more dismembered bodies appear, scattered around the province. the only lead is that the dead men had all been romantically involved

backdrop of contemporary industrial china in all its

“Instead of the traditional motifs of film noir, Diao serves up the bleak backdrop of contemporary industrial China in all its grey, concrete sterility.”

grey, concrete sterility. Further compounding the frostiness at the heart of the film, most of the tale unfolds during winter, with everything covered in snow and ice. Wu Zhizhen is undeniably beautiful, but she is invariably bundled up against the freezing weather rather than languidly reclining in smoky nightclubs with jazz playing in the background. the romantic scenes between the two leads are disconcertingly detached, rather than smouldering with passion. there might be physical joining, but there’s no sense of two people connecting emotionally in any of the (non-explicit) sex scenes. Likewise, Zhang is not your hard-as-nails noir protagonist, and Diao refuses to glamorise the violence in the story. the botched arrest attempt that ends Zhang’s police career is witnessed at arm’s length, the camera maintaining a carefully neutral position, simply presenting the sudden deaths of the participants in a detached, matter of fact style. And Zhang’s shocked reaction keeps the drama

with Wu Zhizhen (Gwei Lun-Mei), an attractive

firmly grounded. He has no witty quips to diminish

but withdrawn woman who works at Rong Rong

the event he has witnessed; he’s too badly shaken

Laundry. So Zhang starts to follow her, but becomes

to speak. Dumped by his wife and stuck in his

attracted to her in the process, much to the concern

dead-end job, Zhang sees the chance to solve the

of his old colleague Detective Wang (Yu Ailei).

murders as offering a shot at redemption. “I’m just

Director Diao Yinan’s thriller is a classic film noir story presented in a stark, naturalistic manner. the genre is usually associated with dramatic shadows, tough cops, and glamorous, deadly dames. Instead of those traditional motifs, Diao serves up the bleak

looking for something to do so my life isn’t a total

EXTRAS

Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles.

loss,” he tells Wang. there’s a comparison to be drawn with the Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, whose existentialist films similarly favoured washed out

084 www.neomag.co.uk

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28/05/2015 16:13

BEST AcToR

colour schemes, sudden and unanticipated bursts

burdened by her past. there is a revealing sequence

of violence, and characters unable to form real

when Zhang and Wu go ice skating on a date. Instead

emotional connections with one another, even

of gliding gracefully together hand-in-hand, Zhang

when they longed to do so. Likewise, Jia Zhangke’s

struggles to keep up with Wu, constantly trailing

equally bleak A Touch Of Sin taps into a similar

after her, never quite catching her. It’s an effective

vein of contemporary chinese noir, although Jia’s

metaphor for their relationship and for Zhang’s

movie is much more explicitly concerned with the

pursuit of the elusive truth. the plotting is quite

callousness and inequality of modern china. Diao,

dense, and there’s always a risk of being left behind.

by contrast, seems to be primarily interested in

But all credit to Diao for crafting an intricate tale,

exploring the possibilities of the noir genre and

particularly in making it look like the mystery has

weaving his web of intrigue, rather than critiquing

been solved when there is still one more dark secret.

his country. Proving the film’s noir credentials, the

Music is used sparingly, but when it does

china of Black Coal is an amoral one. Zhang may be

appear, it’s hardly an expression of unadulterated

chasing a murderer, but he’s certainly no saint.

joy – during a sequence in which Zhang dances in a

Diao’s directorial style is low key but still allows

music studio, he looks like a man desperate to lose

him room to create memorable images. there is a

himself even if it’s only for a moment. Perhaps what

superb transition to mark the passage of time after

draws the disgraced ex-cop to Wu Zhizhen may be

Zhang’s dismissal from the force, as the viewer goes

the fact that they both carry their pasts with them,

from travelling inside a car with Zhang to finding him

and neither of them wants to talk about it.

slumped in a drunken stupor by the side of the road as the season changes from the heat of summer to a

VERDICT: Black Coal, Thin Ice is a twisting

snowbound winter. Dong Jingsong’s photography

ride through a physically and emotionally cold

may not be flashy, but it immerses the viewer in the

landscape that is anchored by a clever script,

chilly embrace of a northern chinese winter and

and strong performances. the ending is a little

earned him the cinematography prize at the Asia

impenetrable, even with the knowledge that the

Pacific Screen Awards. Gwei Lun-Mei projects an air of mystery as the woman whose lovers all wind up dismembered. even

chinese title translates as Daytime Fireworks, but Diao Yinan has crafted a mystery well worth solving.

DAviD WEST

without the trappings of the femme fatale, there is a constant sense that she is holding something back,

FILM HHHHH

Black Coal, Thin Ice snagged the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and Liao Fan earned the Silver Bear prize for Best Actor too. “I’ve always been a fan of detective stories, particularly those that depict the lives of ordinary people,” says Diao Yinan. “I’ve long wanted to make a movie of that sort. China today is greatly changing. “Some of the things that happen seem unbelievable. Some homicide cases, for example, seem preposterous – and yet at the same time accurate reflections of our contemporary reality. Something seemingly insignificant and colourless can spark off an entire rainbow of implications. “I wanted to make a detective film depicting life in contemporary China. My aim was not only to investigate a mystery and find out the truth about the people involved, but also to create a true representation of our new reality. “The film revolves around a horrific homicide and its elusive perpetrator. The process of investigation highlights an individual at war with himself and his road to self-realization and redemption. Indecision, cowardice, treachery, and the impulse to surrender to social norms… These are weaknesses which come from the negativity and passivity of the human heart. They may cloud an individual’s mind, but they can also become the source of humanity.”

if you likE ThiS... For more crime thrills, try Jia Zhangke’s A Touch Of Sin, Johnnie To’s brilliant Triad drama Election, Derek Yee’s undercover tale of drugs and greed Protégé, and Ringo Lam’s classic City On Fire.

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28/05/2015 16:13

Goemon

robin hood + Mad ninja skillz = goemon Before adapting Chushingura in Last Knights,

Kazuaki Kiriya visited the end of Japan’s Warring states period in his epic action fantasy Goemon. Yosuke eguchi plays goemon ishikawa, raised to be a ninja in the service of the mighty warlord oda nobunaga. But after nobunaga’s death, his former retainer hideyoshi toyotomi assumes power, while goemon chooses to become an outlaw, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When he accidentally steals an item that threatens to expose toyotomi’s treacherous route to the top, goemon becomes the target for the warlord’s assassins and is forced to confront his past while fighting for the future of the nation. the cast are just about the only real thing in Goemon. everything else – from ships to streets to castles – was created digitally, allowing Kiriya to craft a vision of feudal Japan that is dizzying in detail and eye-popping in scale. the design work merrily blends together medieval europe (according to history,

Ninja Goemon Ishikawa is a well-known figure in Japanese folk tales, often compared to Robin Hood, but historically accurate information about him is scant. A biography of Hideyoshi Toyotomi written in 1642 refers to Goemon as a thief who was executed by being boiled alive. As his legend grew, Goemon became an outlaw and a ninja who fought for the poor against the powerful, appearing as the subject of Kabuki plays as far back as the 16th century. More recently he can be found in video games, and his descendant, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, is a recurring character in the Lupin franchise.

goemon and fellow ninja saizo (takao osawa) starts in the city and spreads out into the countryside as they zip over rooftops and fields alike. south Korean real-life giant (he’s 7’ 2”!) and former kickboxer Choi hong-Man makes a cameo as a hulking opponent who battles goemon aboard a burning ship in one of the many spectacular set pieces put together by Kiriya and action coordinator seiji Mori. alongside all the swashbuckling, there’s time for a spot of romantic longing between the dashing goemon and the doeeyed princess Chacha (ryoko hirosue). Goemon was such a hit with neo readers that it snagged the Best film prize in the neo awards in 2010.

WoRDs By DavID West

nobunaga wore european-style armour) and Japan, and there’s even a samurai army which looks like they stepped out of Star Wars. the digital world allows action scenes to scoff at the limits of gravity. the chase / fight between

If youTOP lIke thIs... MOVIES NEO’S 5 NINJA

FIVE ElEMENT NINJAS

SHAOlIN CHAllENGES NINJA

SHINObI: HEART UNdER blAdE

SHINObI NO MONO

AzUMI

086 www.neomag.co.uk

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29/05/2015 17:40

TOP SELLERS Log horizon Part 1

New Titles for April 01 Yu-Gi-oh! Second Season

Manga

02 Bleach 14:2

Reader review

Kaze

03 one Piece 9

Manga

04 Naruto Shippuden 5

A Letter to Momo roxy Simons writes a love letter to a modern classic.

Manga

05 Wings of Honneamise

anime Ltd

06 Koimonogatari

MvM

07 Kill la Kill Part 2

anime Ltd

08 Log Horizon Part 1

MvM

09 The ambition of oda Nobuna

MvM

10 Needless Complete

MvM

Grief over a lost loved one can be hard to overcome, and this is something that 11-year-old Momo must learn to do after her father’s sudden death in Hiroyuki okiura’s latest animation. With a letter from him with the words “Dear Momo” on it, Momo and her mother move to the remote island of Shio to start a new chapter in their lives. Determined to figure out what her father intended to say before he died, Momo spends her time alone until strange disturbances in her house lead her to encounter three yokai – Kawa, Mame and iwa – a whimsical trio who help her come to terms with her loss.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna

okiura’s film will entertain and move its audience with its well-crafted storyline and relatable characters. Not only does each character help to build on the humour of the film, but they are well balanced and performed skilfully by the voice actors. The adventures of Momo and the yokai are particularly comical and heart-warming as they stumble across the island recklessly. The animation by Production i.G is also stunning and easy to watch, ensuring that the film is poignant and flows well – proving, once again, that Japanese animation is in safe hands.

Yu-Gi-Oh! second season

Overall in April

ROXY’s TOP 3thIs... ANIME If you lIke

The Wind rises

Studio Canal

Spirited away

Studio Canal

My Neighbour Totoro

Studio Canal

Howl’s Moving Castle

Studio Canal

Princess Mononoke

Studio Canal

Ponyo

Studio Canal

Yu-Gi-oh! Second Season

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Studio Canal

Laputa Castle in the Sky

Studio Canal

The Cat returns

Studio Canal

Manga

Roxy is a fan of fantasy and action!

PRINcEss MONONOkE

RuROuNI kENshIN

BAccANO

The cat Returns * april figures from the British video association, via alltheanime.com.

087_NEO138[ReaderReview]CTGC.indd 1

28/05/2015 16:14

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Card issue number (if applicable) Cardholder’s signature Photocopied forms are acceptable. From time to time NEO may send out exciting news on related products and services, if you do not wish to receive such information please tick here Cheques and postal orders to be made payable to Uncooked Media Ltd. Please allow 28 days for delivery of your first issue. Subsequent issues will arrive subject to an efficient postal service. If you have any queries regarding the delivery of your subscription please contact our Subscriptions Team on 08453 306 540 or email customerservice@uncookedmedia.com.

REF #: NEO138SUB

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Join in online enter this competition (and many more) today at http://www. neomag.co.uk/sec/ competitions.

WIN! CHAMELEON PEN DELUXE SETS WORTH £89.99! THIS ISSUE, WE’RE giving away an incredible prize package to

You can enter by heading over to NEO’s competition section on

four lucky NEO readers – each budding artist will bag themselves a

our website, at http://www.neomag.co.uk/sec/competitions.

Deluxe Chameleon Pen Set worth £89.99! This nifty, easy to carry box

Alternatively, you can enter by sending the correct answer on the

contains 20 pens, which can produce over 100 tones, creating feather-

back of a postcard, along with your address, to the Uncooked Media

light colours all the way through to rich and vibrant shades. These pens

editorial address printed on page 049. Please address it to: NEO 138

blend, highlight, and shade beautifully, making them a fantastic choice

Chameleon Pen competition

for your manga colouring needs! Head on over to page 042 for Ruth

Closing date: 9 July

Keattch’s summer fairy tutorial to see the pens in action, or pick up last issue for Sonia Leong’s guide to shading with these pens to see how it’s

Art by Sonia Leong

done. You can find the pens at www.ChameleonPens.com, or online through their social media – just search for ChameleonPens on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and look them up with ‘Chameleon Marker Pens’ on Tumblr! If you fancy bagging yourself a set of these versatile pens, all you have to do to be in with a chance is answer the following question correctly – then you’ll be entered into our prize draw to win one of four deluxe sets worth £89.99!

How many tones can you create with the deluxe set?: A) 20 B) 50 C) Over 100 Terms and conditions No correspondence will be entered into. No employees of Uncooked Media or the companies providing the prizes may enter. No cash alternative is offered. Entries are only valid if they reach us by the closure date. Multiple entries will be disregarded. The publisher’s decision is final. Entrants must be over 18. www.neomag.co.uk 091

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ÂŠ 2012 Mikage Kasuga-SOFTBANK Creative Corp, / NOBUNA Production Committee

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ÂŠ Takaya Kagami, Yamato Yamamoto, Daisuke Furuya/SHUEISHA, Seraph of the End Project

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ÂŠ Yannick Lalardy. Courtesy JPU Records Ltd. 097_NEO138[poster_NEW]CTGC.indd 1

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