Happy Saturday! How about this ridiculous weather we’re getting here in the U.S.? I don’t know what happened to spring but I want it back!
The big topic of the week is news that the U.S. Death Note live action movie is moving from Warner Brothers to Netflix. Must we continue with this whitewashed mess? Japan has already made multiple Death Note live action adaptations. I’m not saying the latest Death Note live action drama series was that great, but do we really need another version? Especially one that implies that shinigami aren’t inherently Japanese?
Piracy remains at the forefront of the industry’s minds with the release of the latest CODA report. The estimated damage caused by piracy outside of Japan in 2014 was about $2.5 billion, which is more than double the amount of legitimate sales. Ouch.
Matsuri Hino is at it again. We’re getting another Vampire Knight manga! No word yet on how long it’s going to be and what the exact story is about. I’m a little leery about the premise: “Yuuki and Zero made their declaration to be together but…” But?! But what?!
Everyone’s getting excited about Captain America: Civil War–even Japan! Various mangaka who publish in Weekly Shonen Magazine have drawn their own rendition of the movie poster, featuring their signature characters. The artwork is for postcards to be distributed at theaters when the movie premieres the final week of April. As with the “sides” in Civil War, I’m not sure I understand the “sides” in the manga renditions either! Why are the Inashiro and Seidou players all mixed up in the Ace of Diamond postcard? Shouldn’t it just be straight up Inashiro vs. Seidou? Maybe the mangaka are just as confused as we are at the randomness of the sides and wanted to carry that over into their versions…
In more unusual news, the Japanese cult Happy Science has published a book entitled Osamu Tezuka’s Ghost. As the title suggests, the book is about Osamu Tezuka’s…ghost. Yes, that’s right. The cult claims to have been in spirit communication with the deceased mangaka and wrote an entire book about his replies. Despite the outlandish claims, Tezuka’s daughter seems to be keeping a good attitude about the whole affair. I can’t say I’d feel the same way if I were in her shoes.
And that’s it for this week. See you next time!
