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TOEI ANIMATION movie was released at the end of December 2016. It is a fully original film theater version anime in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of its foundation.
This work "POPIN Q" is a youth group image plot depicting 5 girls growing through dance.
It is a commemoration work of TOEI ANIMATION 60th anniversary which definitely attracts attention of Japanese fans who grew up by watching "Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon", "DRAGON BALL", "ONE PIECE" and more...
Immediately after publication! Find out the secret of "POPIN Q" which will be deployed overseas in the nearly future!

The popular trading card game "Shadowverse" is exceeding the total of 5 million smartphone downloads worldwide. It is a feature of a remarkable work which started distribution in June 2016 and became one of popular applications. Beyond the framework of smartphone applications, let's focus on real events that match face to face at venues. It values the fact that local communities expand and vigorously holds events throughout the country.
In addition, battle events are also held as e-sports. It is not just a digital game but it is a rare work in recent years that fusions analog and makes people and people face each other.
imagine-nation features the latest information such as development history, the impact of "Shadowverse" that has on the gaming industry and its future developments!

The anime "Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju" has just started broadcasting from January 2016.It is the anime industry's first challenge of expressing real "Rakugo" with anime and it has become a hot topic as soon as it started broadcasting in Japan.
Its popularity is not limited to the anime world! It brings the result to attract young generation to come to the "Rakugo theaters=Yose". And it also exerts a big repercussion in the Rakugo world. This time let's focus on the 2nd season of such topical work! And find out the secret of anime production that faithfully reproduces fine details of important "voice" and "work" in Rakugo.

A feature of a very popular anime movie that is also Japan's must-see and girls must-see: "Book of the Atlantic Black Butler The Movie -Book of Atlantic-"!
It is a full picture of the first movie version of the anime that has been released in Japan from January 21! The best-selling manga, which totaled over 23 million copies worldwide and it is highly anticipated. The original work which has been published in 11 to 14 volumes is based on "Gorgeous cruise trip". There is a particular attention to the production process, such as how to draw a passenger ship and special CG techniques. Find out more about this dark fantasy anime movie on imagine-nation!

In 2016, "Your name" the popular work of Makoto Shinkai, who is originally an independent creator was a huge hit! So, this time imagine-nation introduces other creators and their works, who have the opportunity to become the next big hit who are also introduced on imagine-nation's website! Takahiro Miyauchi and Takuya Okada, producers of the CG anime "TOKYO COSMO", the anime which is said "a preeminent quality work" in the North America's largest anime introduction website, will appear in the studio. Don't miss the up-and-coming creators!

A feature of the popular manga "ULTRAMAN" which serial series continues from 2011 in monthly Heroes. It is a big title which has been sold over than 2.4 million copies! In Otaku Culture Festival "Comic-Con" held in San Diego every year, overseas manga industry officials held a panel discussion and among manga published in North America in 2016, "ULTRAMAN" got also elected as the best manga in the manga genre for children and youth. Find out the back stage of the battle hero work on which the future world of "Tokusatsu Hero" which is representative Japanese special effects hero is drawn.

The selection committee members who are mainly volunteer bookstore members, want to recommend "Cartoon grand prize" which decides "the freshest manga right now" by voting. It is a gateway for the nominated work to become a big hit animation, dramatization, and filming.
"Kutei Dragons" is the hottest manga which is nominated for such comic grand prize 2017! Capture the flying "dragon" and eat! It is a novelty idea work called "adventure fantasy × fashionable gourmet manga".
The atelier of the manga artist Taku Kawabara will appear on TV show for the first time. It approaches the source of a new idea work such as once making it, eating it and then start drawing. Find out also about the "Dragon Cuisine"!

A special recap from each of manga, anime and game that have been introduced so far, and it introduces selected works at once! As manga: "FIRE FORCE", as game: "FINAL FANTASY XV" and as anime "In this corner of the world". Find out the latest information of each work that will draw attention in the future!

On March 3, the launch of the game title "SUPER BOMBERMAN R" of the hybrid game machine "Nintendo Switch" for home use/mobile handsets was announced. Although it is a completely new work for about 8 years as consumers, it has been popular in Japan for the last 33 years from the first "bomb guy" developed in 1983 as an 8-bit PC title. What is different from the Family Computer version "BOMBERMAN" we enjoyed, and how much has it changed?
Find out the new "BOMBERMAN" that is localized in 11 languages so it can be enjoyed in many countries!

A feature about the dark hero suspense manga "MORIARTY THE PATRIOT" series in the monthly magazine. "Moriarty" is the elderly villain character with an intelligence equivalent to Holmes, appearing in British novelist Arthur Conan Doyle' s mystery novel "Sherlock Holmes". "Sherlock Holmes" is remade all over the world, but works that set "Moriarty" as the protagonist are rare, and in the current work "MORIARTY THE PATRIOT" he is arranged into a 21 year old handsome guy! The precise and the painting-like drawing grabs the hearts of female fans and attracts lots of fans' attention. Find out more about the secret of its hit!

J-POP culture world that 2014 and 2015 and 2-dimensional male idols became a group gender base. High school men student × idol × drawing a youth = "Ensemble stars!", Virtual idol project = "B-PROJECT", pioneer of 2-dimensional idol = "utano☆prince sama♪", etc. …
Various appearances, most of them are hit works. In the meantime, finally, the anime "Starmyu" based on musical idols appeared! From April, 2nd period, anime is broadcast in Japan and gets attention from abroad. This time, "Starmyu" as well as the girls must-see musical version "Starmyumyu" will also be introduced! Don't miss it!

In 2007, Tomihiko Morimi announced the novel "The Eccentric Family" TV anime season 2 started broadcasting in Japan in April! And the sacred tour to Kyoto is rekindling! Also, maybe the theatrical version is close? We feature "The Eccentric Family 2" which is also a representative local anime. Find out the content of the second round of the "Tanuki" series!

In recent years, light novel has become a standard in anime and movies. "Library Wars" that has been made into an anime in 2008 and also released in 2013 as a movie was also a light novel, and it gained popularity with the story development which wasn't so predictable. Also the light novel "All You Need Is Kill" was filmed in Hollywood in 2014. It was a worldwide hit of more than 10 billion, and starring Tom Cruise also acclaims the original novel. So it proves how high potential of Japanese light novel has. Meanwhile, in April this year, a popular light novel, which was said it would be difficult to visualize, finally became animated in Japan. At the same time, the live-action movies will be released. This is a feature of "Sagurada Reset". So find out why it wasn't visualized until now and also the secrets and the hardships to realize the visualization of this work.

A feature of the movie anime project "ANIME TAMAGO 2017" which was released for a week from April 22. "ANIME TAMAGO" is the "culture development project for young animators etc." of the Agency for Cultural Affairs aimed at promoting and enhancing Japanese anime creative. They look for a project of original short anime from an anime production company in Japan, and through the anime selected among them, they actually create anime and nurture young creators in the field. In the past, they have brought up the movie versions of "Little Witch Academia" and because of this excellent artworks it became into TV anime as well. This time, feelings to this project will be introduced through the 3D animation "RedAsh -GEARWORLD-" handled by Studio 4℃ elected in 2017.

A feature about the debut work of the manga artist Tsutomu Nihei, famous for "Knights of Sidonia" which was serialized between 1997 and 2003 on the Monthly Afternoon Magazine: "BLAME!". It is a work highly supported by Japanese movie creators as well as overseas creators and artists with unique world view and hard action depiction. Because the original story is difficult to understand, "BLAME!" was said to be hard to animate. After 20 years, it was released as a completely new theatrical version of 3DCG work. Why now? What is the hardship to make into an anime? On what do we have to focus? Find out more in the episode!

An introduction about the full-fledged SF fantasy comic "Imuri" which serialization began in 2006 and its latest book was published just in May. The author is Ranjo Miyake, a female manga artist who lives in Hokkaido. From gag manga of a fantastic setting to cozy story comic book full of originality, she covers her writing site which continues to challenge various styles. A special feature of "Imuri" which is supposed to be set in July.

Have you ever participated in a "cheering screening"? Cosplay, cheering, "tsukkomi" chorus, chemical light... It is a new movie appreciation style which becomes a boom in Japan. It reverses the concept of traditional movie appreciation which was to watch the show quietly... In a sense, this "cheering screening" movement reaches a fever pitch as a live concert. This style of enjoying the show started with the movie "KING OF PRISM by Pretty Rhythm" known as "Kinpri" which was published in January 2016 as a celebration of the "cheering screening" style. The latest movie "KING OF PRISM -PRIDE the HERO-" of the theatrical version of "Kinpri" series has been on screen from June 10th. Not only the work but also the support screening is further raised. This time, we feature "Kinpri" in which girls in Japan are enthusiastic and check out the "actual status of cheering screening".

An introduction of the latest work of the fighting game series "TEKKEN" that has been released since 1994. 4 striking buttons corresponding to the limbs of the character and 10 combos are representative works of this characteristic fighting game. "TEKKEN" series has been highly appreciated not only in Japan but also overseas, and it has reached more than 44 million sold worldwide.
The latest work "TEKKEN 7" is the first series of VR version, and in the PC version you can enjoy the game with 4K video. The anticipated work release in June is awaited. Find out the up-to-date information on the fighting game "TEKKEN 7", which is recognized worldwide.

Kazuhiro Fujita, a master of fantasy manga known for such as "USHIO and TORA" and "Karakuri Circus", appears in imagine-nation for the first time in 8 years since April 2010. This time features Fujita's latest work "SOU-BOU-TEI KOWASUBESHI" serialized from March 2016 at Weekly Shonen Sunday. He originally likes horror, and got inspiration of the work from the movie "The Legend of Hell House" and others... It is a report of the atelier of Fujita and its work's secret which is popular abroad.

We will introduce the TV anime "MADE IN ABYSS" from web comics that just started broadcasting from July 7. The original starts distribution with WEB COMIC GAMMA operated by TAKESHOBO from 2013, and continues with the current series. It is Akihito Tsukushi's popular fantasy adventure work. It is also an adventure story for adults.
The volume 5 has been issued which has been also published on "BUKA Manga", the Chinese version of an official e-book from China's biggest electronic manga platform. Check out the special feature of "MADE IN ABYSS", a contradictory story with a cute pattern like a picture book, which the attention from overseas is increasing.

As it is represented by the big hit anime "Your Name", fans visit real places that appeared in the anime, such as Tokyo, Hida, Nagoya, Hiroshima, etc... It made a movement like "Pilgrimage to sacred places" in Japan. Among fans, this "Pilgrimage to the sacred place" was inactive and the local side has always been a "receiver". However recently, the act of promoting local places in anime as an act of "offence" has increased and it started to attract people's mind from abroad.
Municipalities/ Commerce and Industry/ Companies/ Film Commission and others of local places in Japan are cooperating and collaborating to activate the "Pilgrimage to the sacred place" through several works. So that's what "Japan's Local Anime" is! Prefectures, municipalities and others take the initiative to appeal the features of the region, customs, history, special products and tourist spots by "Japan's Local Anime".
This time imagine-nation introduces "Japan's Local Anime" by focusing behind the scenes and on the secrets of its big hit!

"SAIYUKI RELOAD BLAST", the new anime series of the popular manga "SAIYUKI" which celebrates its 20 years, has started television broadcasting in Japan from July. In the screening event held ahead of the first episode's on-air, many fans who couldn't wait for it after waiting for 13 years came and it is now making a big noise! "SAIYUKI" which has been animated twice so far and gained popularity both in Japan and abroad, depicts the end of a long and steep journey of SANZO and others that will be the final chapter of the series. Would it be possible to deter the "GYUMAO" resurrection? It is a feature of the latest information of "SAIYUKI RELOAD BLAST" which is now on-aired on TV!

Featuring manga "Radiation House" serialized in 2015 from GRANDJUMP.
It is a medical manga depicting radiation experts who find out the source of diseases and injuries, such as medical radiology technologists and radiologists who support modern medicine through "diagnostic imaging" like X-ray and CT. Manga "Radiation House" describes the backside of unknown medicine and it is an exceptional hit as a medical story. The original, drawing, supervision, editor pursues "easy to understand" and "familiarity" in each part, in order to eliminate the fixed concept of "highly specialized content = small and difficult to be avoided". Find out the back side of this popular manga.

A special feature of the original anime "Your Voice -KIMIKOE-" released on August 25 throughout Japan. It is produced by the anime production company MADHOUSE Inc., known for "DEATH NOTE" which is popular overseas and "CARDCAPTOR SAKURA". This company has well established achievements. "Your Voice -KIMIKOE-" is an original anime depicting a schoolgirl's youth. Find out special tips of how to make an original anime, which is said to have low awareness, into a big hit. We will also approach the efforts of a new generation anime production company trying to create a popular work without depending on the original.

Introducing the latest work of Koji Mori "TAIGA of GENESIS" which is popular as a talented artist in "Holyland" and "JISATSUTOU". This work is a new serial series that was just serialized from March in the youth manga magazine "biweekly magazine EVENING" which is published twice a month. It is a survival manga that draws the mystery of human being's creation that develops on 3 axes, "primitive era", "animal" and "human drama". Find out Mori Koji's new challenge that has been drawing realistically based on real experience!

From April imagine-nation introduced the hottest manga, anime and games! We will deliver the latest information about each work that will attract attention in the future! In this first roundup we pick up "Moriarty the Patriot", "KING OF PRISM -PRIDE the HERO-" and "TEKKEN 7"!

This time's feature is "Amane†Gymnasium" of Usamaru Furuya, a manga artist known for "Lychee Light Club" and "TEIICHI NO KUNI" which was also made into a movie. It is the latest Furuya's work that just started serializing from March 2017 on Monthly Magazine Morning Two. An aesthetic and magical fantasic story that the puppet author Amane Miyakata woven with 7 dolls made by herself. It draws a variety of painting style! Find out the delicate and accurate drawing of Furuya, who is specialized in dark fantasy and who fills works with his "love"!

Naginata(Japanese halberd) entertainment movie "ASAHINAGU" is a masterpiece of the manga artist Ai Kozaki whose serial series continues from 2011 on weekly magazine Big Comic Spirits. Kozaki is known as a young and talented manga artist who was also the assistant of Usamaru Furuya, the author of "Amane†Gymnasium" featured in imagine-nation in September. This time it is a special feature of a manga with the theme on the representative martial arts Naginata (Japanese halberd) in Japan.

It was awarded the youth manga award of "Mangawa prize" chosen by French middle and high school students. It is also a topic to be placed as a recommended book in the French library. The SF manga of Abi Umeda, "Children of the Whales" which started publishing in the "Monthly Magazine Mystery Bonita" since 2013, became into TV anime and began broadcasting in Japan from this October. This time, it is a feature about the topic work "Children of the Whales", a SF high fantasy which worldwide broadcast is decided in Netflix in 2018!

The anime adaptation of "INUYASHIKI LAST HERO", based on Hiroya Oku's comic which ran for 3 and a half years between 2014 and July 2017, began airing in Japan in October. An unconventional anime with a "dowdy old man for a hero", "INUYASHIKI LAST HERO" is a surefire hit with a live action film also to follow in 2018.

With the rise of the internet in the 2000's, an increasing number of manga have been published as "Web Comics" rather than in print manga magazines which were mainstream until the mid-1990's. Since around 2013, the development of manga apps helped spawn well over 200 web comic sites, even just counting those run by businesses and municipalities, thereby creating a new business model. Many novel and imaginative works have come out of such web comics, gaining popularity particularly among teenagers of the smartphone generation. This time, we look at the current state of web comics in Japan, uncovering what's going on in web comics today and profiling "JINMEN", a web manga that enjoys a massive teenage following.

On November 17, the latest installment of the GODZILLA series premiered across Japan. This Sci-Fi movie of cosmic scale is set 20,000 years in the future. It's a part 1 of the first ever GODZILLA trilogy, and is also the first ever GODZILLA theatrical anime! The movie was first showcased at the "Annecy International Animated Film Festival" in France this June, and drew a lot of international hype. Soon after its Japanese premiere, the movie also debuted on Netflix for audiences worldwide. Stay tuned as we delve deep into the latest GODZILLA anime movie!

On November 9, "SONIC FORCES", the latest SONIC THE HEDGEHOG action game was announced for Japan ahead of the world. There's been a lot of anticipation from fans worldwide ever since it was revealed at E3, the world's biggest game expo. It's set to debut on various hardware, and supports 11 languages including Simplified Chinese, Polish and Russian. This episode will be featuring producers Takashi Iizuka and Shun Nakamura who have been the driving force behind the SONIC series over the years. Today, SONIC is more than just a game character. Some even consider SONIC to be a symbol of Japanese pop culture. We'll also be featuring the game's developers to talk about their passion and the new "Avatar" feature through which they hope to lure new fans.

Many Japanese manga have historical themes. They range from work based on historical fact, those centered around action, to those that only use a historical period as a backdrop for fantasy elements. In every era, "historical manga" have always been published. This time, we feature "MUJIN", a serious historical drama that has captured the hearts of readers including the young generation since it began running in March 2014. We thoroughly analyze why historical manga are loved today, and where their appeal lies, together with an overview of the path historical manga have taken until now.

A new dark hero of a different stripe has appeared on the scene, adding to the dark hero genre that continues to produce hits. That hero is Yuto Sera featured in "PERFECT HUMAN", which began running in "Weekly Manga TIMES" in November last year. He is a brilliant mind, drop-dead gorgeous, a gifted professional boxer, has a likable personality, and is popular to boot. He is the perfect 18-year-old with not a flaw in sight. The catch is, there are 5 Yuto Seras! We zero in on the origin of this new dark hero manga that is hot with talk of live-action and anime adaptations coming up.

The imagine-nation website is updated weekly with new anime, manga and games by independent creators. This time, we spotlight "anime" and present a whole spectrum of works by independent creators expected to get their big break, along with their activities and interviews! We welcome to the studio Tomoko Nozawa, a singer-songwriter and creator of "Stag beetle's JAZZ" which won the grand prize at the "INDEPENDENT ANIMATION FESTIVAL". We take a close look at the emerging creators as they take on new challenges!