japanamerica

Last night I was blessed to appear in downtown Tokyo with Pokemon Executive Producer, Shogakukan editor and creative designer, Tokyo Anime Center founder and director, committee member for the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) and the Tokyo Anime Fair (TAF)--Mr. Masakazu Kubo. Together we addressed members and guest of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators at the behest of director Holly Johnson. Kubo-san is now involved in the development of a feature film of Naoki Urasawa's MONSTER manga series. Responding to certain questions, he urged audience members to "read Roland's book," Japanamerica . He believes I got it right--which is a considerable relief to me, as he is one of the book's key voices. Meanwhile, it appears that Chinese and/or Chinese-Americans are helming several Hollywood versions of manga and anime titles. James Wong will direct the upcoming Dragonball Z live action film, starring Justin Chatwin and James Marsters

If you're in Tokyo tomorrow night, please join us: ****************************** ****************************** **************** The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents Made in Japan: What Makes Manga Japanese—And Why Western Kids Love It with Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica and Masakazu Kubo, Executive Producer, Shogakukan Time: Saturday, November 17 , 2007 , 6:30-8:30 p.m. Place: Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Conference Room 2 5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku , Tokyo ( by the Children’s Castle and United Nations University ) For a map see www.scbwi.jp/map.htm Fee: 1,000 yen SCBWI members; 1,500 yen nonmembers This event will be in English. This talk followed by Q&A will cover the nuts and bolts of the craft of manga and discuss the nature of its appeal beyond Japan. Roland Kelts is author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. ( www.japanamericabook.com ). He is a lect