Welcome back to another installment of “Last Week in Geekdom” where I comb the internet for all the news you need to know so you don’t have to. I picked up some new omnibuses (omnibi?) on Friday so look out for a THrowback Thursday manga review coming this week. In terms of news items from the last week: the Crunchyroll Anime Awards happened last night, check below for the winners; Vic Mignogna has been booted from current and future Funimation projects to much backlash from his fans; and Hulu has announced some new Marvel animated series coming to its platform. Also check below for some great videos and articles. As always, have a great Sunday, and if you’re in the US, have a great 3-day weekend!
Top Anime and Manga News
Funimation has cut ties with Vic Mignogna following an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate contact with fans, with many allegations dating back to 2008. Mignogna has been taken off the cast for Rooster Teeth’s RWBY and The Morose Mononokean as well as cancelled from many convention appearances. Unfortunately fans of Mignogna also took to Twitter and Reddit to defend him, sparking days-long controversy.
The Crunchyroll Anime Awards happened last night on Twitch. Among the winners were Devilman Crybaby for Anime of the Year, Darling and the Franxx for Best Opening, and Mai Sakurajima for Best Girl. You can check out more of the winners in their wrap-up video linked earlier.
Voice actress Hiroko Konishi has written an article sharing her #MeToo experiences in Japan and detailing stories of harassment within the anime voice acting industry. Konishi claims that an incident where her manager tried to force her into a mixed bathing situation with a Director left her ostracised from the industry and VA work.
Marc Webb, director of The Amazing Spider-Man and 500 Days of Summer, has been chosen to direct the Western adaptation of Your Name. From a description of the movie released so far, it looks like the plot is being adapted to focus on a Native American girl and a boy from Chicago. ANN reports that a Westernized adaptation was specifically requested by the Japanese rights holders.
Anime Announcements:
- Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid gets Season 2
- Attack on Titan season 3 2nd cour coming April 28th
- DanMachi season 2 coming Summer 2019
- Fruits Basket episodes 1 and 2 premiering in US theaters in March
- Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 2nd season coming this summer
Manga Announcements:
- The Way of the House Husband gets English translation through Viz
- No Longer Human by Junji Ito gets English release through Viz
Top Comics News
Archival Quality by Noelle Weir and Christina “Steenz” Stewart has won the Dwayne McDuffie award for Diversity in comics. The award spotlights the best underrepresented voices in comic books that are striving to craft a wider diversity of creations. Archival Quality beat out other nominees such as The Carpet Merchant and Papa Cherry.
Peter Simeti, owner of Alterna Comics, has become a victim of a Swatting attempt. Simeti was live on Youtube promoting with a comic book store when someone called the police with Simeti’s address and a false murder/suicide claim. Theories link this incident to claims that Simeti is somehow involved in comicsgate, though he repeatedly denies these claims.
Hulu has made plans to cement a partnership with Marvel by adding four new adult-oriented animated series to its lineup as well as talks about reviving some cancelled shows such as Daredevil on their platform. Four animated series are in the works such as: Howard the Duck, Modock, Hit Monkey, and Tigra & Dazzler.
DC Entertainment and Nickelodeon are teaming up to create a Batman vs The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover. The animated movie will be based off of the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic miniseries by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II.
Featured Articles and Interviews
- CBR takes a look at forced diversity this week and how the ridiculous claim that the comic industry is forcing change on today’s comics and movies actually comes from a long line of forced storylines dating back to peak Stan Lee era.
- Redditor ChariotWheel has written a lengthy explanation about the history of the Ainu people in Japan culminating recently just this year in the passage of a bill to recognize the Ainu as an indigenous ethnic group, tying that into Golden Kamuy’s representation.
- Anime Feminist takes a look at Fruits Basket this week and the character development of Tohru Honda as she slowly comes to a state of self-acceptance.
Featured Videos
- ShadowForks Games takes a look at Alita Battle Angel’s manga translation changed when the publisher switched from Viz to Kodansha, and how arguably the quality of its translation took a nosedive.
- Mother’s Basement continues the Alita discussion by explaining why the new live-action film may just be the best live action anime adaptation to date.
- Get in the Robot explains the history and growth of fan service in anime by looking at some of anime’s earliest instances and the history of pornographic content in Japan.
Featured WordPress Post
- Unnecessary Exclamation Mark delves into lollicon media and how it is perceived in the West and how the Western legal system judges what is and isn’t acceptable.
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