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. Admittedly, a lot has happened this week in the anime and comics news realm. With San Diego Comic-Con taking over this weekend and Kyoto Animation being the target of an arson attack, there’s definitely a lot of news to go around and I’ve tried to capture the main points below. The anime and manga news section now contains a list of coverage for the Kyoto Animation fire so you all can get updated on everything. I’ve also included a list of SDCC announcements in the Comics section. In terms of highlights for this week: one of Kyoto Animation’s buildings was hit by an arson attack killing 34 people; Alan Moore has finally retired from writing comics; and the 2019 Eisner Award winners were announced over the weekend. Be sure to check out the videos and articles below as well, and as always, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! To all those with heat wave advisories like me, stay cool!
Top Anime and Manga News
Kyoto Animation was the victim of arson this week, with one of their studio buildings severely burned and 34 confirmed dead. See below for all the coverage:
- Full information and timeline with links on r/Anime thread
- Live translated updates from the NHK and Japanese police on Twitter
- Official Statement from Kyoto Animation about the fire
- All computers and art destroyed in fire states Kyoto Animation President in interview
- Kyoto Animation President considers demolishing building and adding in a monument and park
- Here’s a picture guide on how to buy hi-res images straight from KyoAni
- GoFundMe by Sentai Filmworks (however unknown if KyoAni will accept these donations)
Tokyo Tarareba Girls wins the Eisner for Best US Edition of International Material: Asia. The Eisner Awards were announced over the weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. You can see below for more coverage of the full winners in the comics section.
The live-action Akira film has been delayed indefinitely. The film was set to begin production in the fall, with the release planned for May 21, 2021. However, reports of creative disagreements and the overlap of schedules with Director Taika Waititi’s work on Thor 4 prompted the delay. Production is planned to resume after the release of Thor 4.
Anime Announcements:
- Evangelion 3.0+1.0 will premiere June 2020
- Four Aniplex titles now streaming on Netflix
- Arte manga getting anime adaptation
- No Guns Life premieres October 2019
- Sound and Fury animated film debuting on Netflix this Fall
Manga Announcements:
- Black Lagoon gets spin-off manga
- Rose of Versaille will be released by Udon Entertainment in December
Top Comics News
Alan Moore has officially retired from writing comics after the release of the last issue of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume IV: The Tempest. More is known for such comics as The Watchmen, The Killing Joke, From Hell, and V for Vendetta.
The 2019 Eisner Award Winners were announced at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. You can see the list of winners on Io9. Winners include: Giant Days for Best Continuing Series, Gideon Falls for Best New Series, and Jen Wang (The Prince and the Dressmaker) for Best Writer/Artist.
The Avengers: Endgame has surpassed Avatar to become the highest grossing film worldwide as announced at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. The film has broken box office records since its release, but its rise to the top was still a fairly big surprise.
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD will conclude with Season 7. Talkies Network speaks with head of Marvel Television Jeff Loeb about the decision and where the series will go in the final season. Loeb also points out that they all thought the series would end with season 5, but now they have the chance to end it the way they want to.
San Diego Comic-Con Announcements:
- Marvels The Eternals in theaters November 6, 2020
- Thor: Love and Thunder in theaters November 5, 2021
- Blade is coming with Mahershala Ali
- Doom Patrol second season
- Hawkeye TV series Fall 2021
- Fantastic Four movie in the works
- Marvel’s What If…? animated series Summer 2021
- Loki original series Spring 2021
- Black Widow in theaters May 1, 2020
Featured Articles and Interviews
- CNet discusses the history of San Diego Comic-Con from 1970 to today, pointing out how fandom has changed and grown over the years.
- Japan Times takes a look at the history and impact of Kyoto Animation in light of the recent tragedy.
- Anime News Network’s The Answerman takes a look at how anime conventions have changed over time with ANN’s founder Justin Sevakis.
Featured Videos
- Wisecrack examines what went wrong with the second season of One Punch Man and how it failed to create an interesting plot line and wound up side-lining the main character.
- Zeria takes a look at the definition of Iyashikei anime and how it’s not so simple to pin-point what animes fall into this category.
- Get in the Robot looks at why so many anime has so much screaming, relating this to the concept of chi/ki and martial arts practices.
Featured WordPress Post
- The Backloggers show their appreciation for Kyoto Animation by talking about their favorite films and series from the studio and how their anime affected their lives personally.
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Thanks for mentioning our article at the The Backloggers. We were absolutely devastated by the KyoAni attack and wanted to express our feelings about it towards the community, as I’m sure everyone feels the same way that we do.
As a community, we all have our own experiences with KyoAni works and why they’re important to us, and we just wanted to honor them in these difficult times by sharing the importance of KyoAni within our lives as anime fans. Thank you for sharing it.
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No problem!
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