Anime News

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, has announced a variety of notable film screenings, festivals, lectures and other special events to be held throughout the month of March.

Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films:
Vol.1 YAKUZA NIGHT FEVER!
New activities kick off on March 5th with Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films. Come celebrate the launch of Japanese pop culture critic and Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias’s new film/lecture series. Also sponsored by SEGA of America, the evening’s events begin at 6:00pm and will include a lecture on the history of Japanese yakuza (gangster) cinema and the debut of SEGA’s highly anticipated new video game, Yakuza 3, for the PlayStation 3. Tickets are only $10.00.

NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival
VIZ Cinema will present the NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival, a special collection of six insightful documentaries each profiling a unique Japanese contemporary artist. The 4-day festival runs March 6th – 9th and features the U.S. theatrical premieres of several films featuring the Neo-Japanese “Hip-Hop-Samurai” painter Hisashi Tenmyouya, the cynical artistic genius of Makoto Aida, and the life and work of master sculptor Katsura Funakoshi. By popular demand, the festival has announced encore showings of three documentaries on artists Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, and photographer Daido Moriyama. Summaries of each film and a list of screening times are available at: www.vizcinema.com. Special festival passes are available for $30.00 offer access to ANY screening at ANY time during the festival! General admission tickets for individual films are available for $10.00 each, Senior (+62) and Children (under 12) are $8.

NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival Films Include:
Hisashi Tenmyouya : Samurai Nouveau: 3/6 Sat, 1:00pm & 3/7 Sun, 3:00pm
Makoto Aida : Cynic in the Playground: 3/6 Sat, 3:00pm & 3/7 Sun, 5:00pm
Katsura Funakoshi: Whispering Gaze: 3/6 Sat, 5:00pm & 3/8 Mon, 7:00pm
Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara: 3/7 Sun, 7:00pm & 3/9 Tue, 5:00pm
Yayoi Kusama: I Love ME: 3/7 Sun, 1:00pm & 3/9 Tue, 7:00pm
Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog of Tokyo: 3/6 Sat, 7:00pm & 3/8 Mon, 5:00pm

The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki
Don’t miss a rare chance to attend a lecture given Fred Schodt and Beth Cary, the translators of Starting Point: 1979-1996, an autobiography written by Academy Award winning film director and anime visionary, Hayao Miyazaki! Hear some interesting stories of these two recognized experts on anime and manga who spent time with Miyazaki and glean deeper insights into his world of incredible imagination. The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki will be held on March 10th at 7:00pm; tickets are $8.00.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
VIZ Cinema also partners with the 28th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival to present Dear Doctor, by award-winning director Miwa Nishikawa (Sway and Wild Berries). Dear Doctor is a drama centering on a physician that goes missing after moving to his post in a remote village with no other doctors. Notable for exposing the complicated human psyche, this touching film plays for one night only on Wednesday, March 17th at 9:15pm. Information and advance tickets ($12.00) are available at the festival website http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/2010/.

U.S. Premiere Of Mobile Suit Gundam UCMobile Suite Gundam
Anime fans won’t want to miss VIZ Cinema’s just-added week long screening of the Mobile Suit Gundam UC feature film (58 min) running March 19th – 25th. Gundam has been popular for more than 30 years and this brand new story is based on a bestseller written by acclaimed science fiction author Harutoshi Fukui. The film makes a special U.S. debut only one month after its original premiere in Japan and was made possible via a special arrangement with Studio Sunrise.

In the year U.C. 0096, a colony called Industrial 7 is the stage for a young boy named Banagher's encounter with destiny: the white Mobile Suit called the Unicorn Gundam. A mysterious Laplace's Box becomes the basis for a galactic scale battle. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch the U.S. theatrical of the latest Gundam movie! Tickets are $8.00; no discounts apply.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Press Release for February 24, 2010

February is the month of love and VIZ Cinema, the nation’s first and only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, sweetens this theme with a pair of captivating love stories by director Isshin Inudo, presented in association with Asmik Ace Entertainment. Don’t miss the chance to attend the West Coast premieres of these heartwarming cinematic masterpieces. How far would you go in the name of LOVE?

VIZ Cinema is privileged to present director Inudo’s Josee, The Tiger and The Fish, screening February 5th –18th; and La Maison De Himiko, showing February 18th – March 4th. To celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day for the entire month of February, filmgoers who also bring a date (or a friend) will receive a special 50% discount on the second person’s admission.Himiko

Anime fans can also look forward to a special double-feature encore showing of Gurren Lagann: The Movie 1 & 2 – for one night only – on Sunday February 21st at 5:00pm and 7:30pm respectively. VIZ Cinema will offer special combo tickets for $15.00 to attend both showings. Preview trailers and screening times for all films are available at: http://www.vizcinema.com.

Isshin Inudo first gained fame as an innovative director of television commercials. But he started garnering international accolades with his first feature film, Two, Talking (1994), which won the Grand Prix award at the Sundance Film Festival in Tokyo and the Best New Director award from the Japanese Film Director’s Association.

Josee, The Tiger and The Fish, February 5th – February 18th REGIONAL PREMIERE
Love blooms between two unlikely people when college student Tsuneo meets Kumiko, aka “Josee,” a young woman who embraces life with a feisty personality, despite cerebral palsy and her need for a baby buggy for transport. Isshin Inudo deftly adapts author Seiko Tanabe’s short story into a poignant feature film that was a genuine crowd pleaser and won numerous awards including a Best New Director Award from The Japanese Minister of Education. The Tiger and The Fish takes a place alongside memorable films such as Benny & Joon, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Rory O’Shea Was Here and captures the resilience of the human spirit in the face of physical handicaps and shows how love can flourish with pride and self-determination.

La Maison De Himiko, February 18th – March 4th REGIONAL PREMIERE
Family secrets, redemption, and the power of love to renew family bonds are explored between a father and daughter who can’t understand each other and a man and a woman who can’t love each other. Their odd and beautiful stories are brought to life by director Inudo against a backdrop of a colorful homosexual retirement home. Teenage Saori despises her father, who chose to leave her mother to live a new life out of the closet. But family ties are recalled as she learns of her father’s terminal cancer; and her curiosity is piqued by a beautiful and mysterious young man who delivers the message and claims to be her father’s lover. La Maison De Himiko explores homosexuality in Japan and also how people affirm or deny the stereotypes society imposes and how they embrace their decisions and individuality, and love’s ultimate power to redeem.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie ~ Childhood’s End
Sunday, February 21st 5:00pm
Based on the hit animated television series, this sci-fi feature takes place in a fictional future in which human beings have been forced to live in closed-off underground villages. Kamina and Simon are constrained by the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet, all this will change when Simon stumbles across a fantastic mechanized device – just as the village’s peace is broken by a violent intrusion.

Gurren Lagann: The Movie 2 ~ The Lights In The Sky Are Stars
Sunday, February 21st 7:30pm
Overcoming the loss of loved ones, Simon survived mortal combat with the Beastmen leader Lordgenome. Seven years later, humans have returned to the surface to build a flourishing civilization. But, the peaceful times don’t last forever as humans begin developing beyond their world into outer space and encounter an unknown enemy.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Press Release for January 26th, 2010

“Hit Me With Music Vol. 2” Opens 2010 With New Films To Screen At The Premiere Venue For Japanese Pop Culture

San Francisco, CA, December 29, 2009 – VIZ Cinema, the nation’s first and only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, opens 2010 with an exciting new program for January that continues to explore music as a cinematic theme.

From rock ‘n roll to classical, music provides the soundtrack for young people’s lives. “Hit Me With Music, Volume 2” will showcase several films that each move to a different beat and will premiere Shindo, Midnight Sun and Oh! My Buddha. VIZ Cinema’s ever popular Weeknight Anime People will screen the samurai action of Sword of the Stranger while the venue’s NEW PEOPLE ARTIST SERIES plans a special presentation of the intriguing documentary, Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog of Tokyo. Preview trailers and screening times are available at: http://www.vizcinema.com.

Shindo, December 26th- January 7th REGIONAL PREMIERE
Shindo is based on a manga series created by Akira Sasou. Wao is a high school graduate wanting to go to music school and he meets Uta, a 13-year-old child prodigy pianist. Uta often skips lessons behind her mother’s back but she takes a liking to Wao, who is completely devoted to the piano. Uta soon begins to regularly visit Wao’s family vegetable shop and although they are not lovers or siblings, their relationship grows close through the pair’s shared love of music. Actor Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note) gives an excellent performance as the young man, Wao, while Uta is played by Riko Narumi, a talented up and coming actress. This is her first starring role in a feature film.

Midnight Sun, January 8th - January 21st
Kaoru is a talented young teenager who sings and plays guitar. But she also suffers from a rare skin disease called Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP), which prevents her body from repairing the cell damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light. This means that she must avoid sunlight completely. She has never attended school and is incapable of doing many things most teenagers take for granted. When she falls in love with a boy named Kouji, however, she once again begins to challenge herself as she tries things she had given up because of illness and slowly regains her inner sunshine.

Oh! My Buddha, January 22nd - February 4th
Jun is a boy who just started his first year at a private Buddhist school and is obsessed with his guitar and Bob Dylan. Despite his love for rock and roll, his life is like a mundane routine just passing him by. One day, his friend invites him to go to an island over summer break and stay at a youth hostel with other boys and girls who practice “free love.” Jun’s journey into adulthood begins. This film refreshingly and often comically depicts the awkward stages of adolescent life. Daichi Watanabe from the popular band Kuroneko Chelsey makes his debut in this film.

Sword of the Stranger Sword of the Stranger, January 19th – January 20th WEEKNIGHT ANIME PEOPLE
Famed animation studio BONES (Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa) pulls out all the stops in this feature-length samurai anime action movie. No Name is a ronin who abandoned his name in troubled times and vowed to never unsheathe his sword again. Luo-Lang is a blond-haired, blue-eyed Western assassin working for the Ming Dynasty. The two strangers are destined to clash, as the only thing they believe in is their swordsmanship. They kill – and kill some more – in this blazing display of Japanese sword action!

Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog Of Tokyo, January 26th FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Daido Moriyama has been a major force in artistic photography since the late 60’s, but his true persona has been hidden behind a veil of mystery, until now. This documentary follows the charismatic Moriyama as he takes his first digital photos and displays his trademark photographic technique of taking quick snapshots without looking in the viewfinder. Often shot in black and white, out of focus and dramatically cropped or tilted, the themes of Moriyama's images have been said to convey a sense of the disordered human condition and the conflicting realities of modern urban life. The DVD for this documentary film will be released on the same date from VIZ Pictures. For more details please visit www.viz-pictures.com.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Denver, CO -- Nan Desu Kan, the premiere anime convention of the Rockies, will celebrate the Year of the Tiger with NDK NYE, a New Year's Eve Costume Ball, on Dec. 31, 2009 at the Marriott Denver Tech Center. Tickets are only $15 and hotel rooms begin at $69. Doors open at 8 p.m.

"New Year's is the biggest holiday in Japan and NDK NYE is the most affordable hotel party in Denver," said Amanda Liebermann, NDK Executive Director. "We are so excited to present this new and fun event to the anime community. The first 100 hotel guests have a chance to win a free stay!"

NDK NYE will feature a fusion of Japanese cultural activities and refined anime cosplay elegance in an all ages atmosphere, featuring a variety of music by DJ Bullock, door prizes, games, and a balloon drop at midnight. Food and drinks will be available for purchase and photo services will be offered by NDK convention photographer Chris Gilstrap of CG Photography.NDK NYE

During this event, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase exclusive Japanese fortunes (omikuji). Proceeds will benefit the Japan America Society of Colorado, which promotes understanding of the arts, literature, cultural ideals and aspirations of the Japanese and American people.

About Nan Desu Kan:
Nan Desu Kan (NDK), the largest anime convention in the Rocky Mountain region, provides a diverse mix of numerous cultural panels, musical guests, games, dances, workshops, art showings and auctions, as well as around-the-clock screenings of the best new and classic Japanese animation. It will be held Sept. 10-12, 2010 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, 4900 S. Syracuse, Denver, CO 80237. Nan Desu Kan is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Anime Association. The latest news and programming information can be found at www.ndkdenver.org.

About Rocky Mountain Anime Association:
The Rocky Mountain Anime Association (RMAA) is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Japanese culture in Colorado. The RMAA sponsors Nan Desu Kan and NDK NYE.