Bloom Reviews

Welcome back to another edition of “Last Week in Geekdom” where I comb the internet for all the news you need to know so you don’t have to. For this week, there were a lot of announcements for the number of episodes each anime was getting this season and where they are going to be streamed. I’ve decided not to include those, but there are two pieces of news that I thought I should highlight. One, it has been reported that someone has stolen blood from Stan Lee in order to use it as ink in special pens and to sign special edition comics. Two, Isao Takahata, one of the co-founders of Studio Ghibli, has passed away at age 82. I’m currently at PAX East today, and may have missed things in the news this week, so as always, let me know if I haven’t mentioned something important. Thanks!

Anime and Manga News

• The anime industry has taken full advantage of April Fool’s Day this year. Here’s a list of all the pranks you may have fallen for.
• “Violet Evergarden” anime team confirms that a completely new project has been green-lit for the series.
• A-1 Pictures’ Koenji Studio has rebranded to CloverWorks in an effort to reflect a renewed focus on being a unique animation studio with a focus on diversifying animation.
• Crunchyroll adds “Black Lagoon”, “Snow White with the Red Hair”, and more to its catalog.
• Eleven Arts has announced that it will begin screening of the first “Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern” in the US in June.
• Dark Horse has picked up the “Eromanga-sensei” manga for publication in the US.
• Studio 8-Bit is coming together with “Escaflowne” director Kazuki Akane to develop a new anime centered around the drama of going through puberty.
• A new “My Hero Academia” movie trailer teases a young All Might.
• “Fairy Tail” creator Hiro Mashima has announced that he will be launching a new manga on June 27. He has also confirmed a “Fairy Tail” sequel and spin-off manga.
• The 42nd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards nominees were announced, featuring 12 titles across 3 categories.
• The “Kamisama Kiss” manga has been renewed for a special chapter coming this April.
• “Magi” creator Shinobu Ohtaka has announced a new manga project entitled “Orient”, a Japanese fantasy set to begin serialization in May.
• “My Neighbor Seki” manga gets a new chapter this May.
• The final season of the “Fairy Tail” anime will premiere this Fall.
• The Animate store in Tokyo is distributing real world “Magical Girl Ore” magical girl contracts.
• The “Welcome to the Ballroom” manga continues its hiatus due to the author’s health issues.
• The Japanese government plans to ask providers to block unauthorized manga sites citing 400 billion Yen in damages to copyright holders.

Comic News

• Nerdist contributor Rosie Rosie Knight sits down with Jenn St. Onge and Kelly Thompson to talk about the new “Nancy Drew” comic series.
• The metal band, BABYMETAL, get their own graphic novel entitled “Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal” featuring art by GMB Chomichuk.
• Kurt Busiek’s “Astro City” is slated to get a live-action TV Show. Kurt gives a short interview to Newsarama about the deal.
• Fantagraphics, Image, and Marvel get Hugo Award nominations.
• Stan Lee’s blood has allegedly been stolen by a business associate in a ploy to create special pens filled with his blood instead of ink.
• The winners of the sixth annual Cartoonist Studio Prize have been announced.
• FX has ordered a pilot of Brian K Vaughan’s “Y: The Last Man”. Melina Matsoukas is set to direct.

Featured Articles

• The Daily Beast dives deep into the backstory of Comicsgate, taking a long look at the history of Richard Meyer’s involvement as well as many other figures.
• The Sakuga Blog provides us with a list of the most exciting new anime studios that we should be keeping an eye on in 2018.

Featured Videos/Podcasts

• Mother’s Basement has produced a Public Service Announcement for anyone who finds themselves in an Isekai series.

Featured WordPress Post

• Shokamoka gives us a great analysis of the first episode of “A Place Further than the Universe” and its witty scene direction.
• Irina discusses the different kinds of fanservice in anime and where the line is drawn for her enjoyment of it.

~~Thanks for Reading!~~

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