NEON ALLEY anime content update

VIZ MEDIA STARTS SEPTEMBER OFF WITH A BRAND

NEW ANIME CONTENT UPDATE FOR NEON ALLEY

Don’t Miss The Latest SAILOR MOON SUPER S Episodes,

New NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Weekly Simulcasts and more!

VIZ Media keeps the anime action running hot for the remainder of the summer as it details new content for its Neon Alley streaming platform for September. The magical girl anime adventure of SAILOR MOON SUPER S continues the must-see fourth season of the legendary series with 2 new subtitled episodes set to premiere every Monday throughout the month. Catch a total of 8 episodes during September beginning with Episodes 138 and 139 on September 7th.

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN digital simulcasts also offer Neon Alley viewers the newest adventures of the world’s most popular ninja with subtitled streams of the latest action packed episodes straight from Japan every Thursday. Catch Episode 426 on September 3rd, followed by Episode 427 & 428 on September 10th, Episode 429 on September 17th and Episode 430 on September 24th. Additional English dubbed NARUTO action from earlier seasons of the series also continues this month with the premiere of Season 4 Episodes 180-192, which are available to stream now in their entirety.

The latest September 2015 update is further highlighted by new episodes from additional top-rated VIZ Media anime properties including:

HIKARU NO GO
• Catch the Neon Alley run of this gripping anime series based on the smash hit manga about a boy that discovers the amazing Japanese strategy game of Go with the help of the ghost of an ancient Go master.
• Hikaru Shindo is like any sixth-grader in Japan: a pretty normal kid with a two-tone head of hair and a penchant for antics. His life completely changes when he finds an old bloodstained Go board in his grandfather’s attic. The ghost of an ancient Go master named Fujiwara-no-Sai was trapped in the board and soon becomes a part of Hikaru’s consciousness. Together Hikaru and Sai make an unstoppable Go-playing team!
• HIKARU NO GO Season 1 Episodes 1-15 and Season 2 Episodes 16-25 (dubbed) are available to stream throughout the month!

KEKKAISHI
• The supernatural action of KEKKAISHI continues in September with the streaming premiere of dubbed Episodes 27-39.
• Mystical forces are powerful in the region called Karasumori. For over 400 years, it has been the duty of a clan of Kekkaishi – barrier masters – to guard the land, exterminating the supernatural beasts which appear there night after night. Yoshimori Sumimura is a 14-year-old student at Karasumori School. Following in the tradition that's come down through the generations, he is the twenty-second Kekkaishi of the Sumimura clan. But he’s constantly fighting with his rival, Tokine Yukimura – his childhood friend and also a Kekkaishi – about who is the rightful heir to the magical barrier arts. Protecting people from danger while growing stronger himself, Yoshimori will battle the forces of evil again tonight!

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s consolidated online destination for FREE streaming anime content in the U.S. with over 3,700 subtitled and English dubbed episodes and movies from more than 32 series! Neon Alley also reaches an expansive on-demand U.S.-based audience on Hulu, which enables viewers to watch shows anytime, anywhere across devices including Xbox One, PlayStation®4 (PS4™), Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and mobile devices. A full list of Hulu -enabled devices can be found at http://www.hulu.com/plus/devices.

Additional information on Neon Alley is available at: www.NeonAlley.com and http://blog.neonalley.com.

VETERAN coming to North America

Writer and director Ryoo Seung-wan (center) on a Veteran set

KOREAN BOX OFFICE HIT VETERAN POISED TO IGNITE

NORTH AMERICAN THEATERS STARTING SEPTEMBER 18

Action-Packed Film to Make Its North American Debut on

September 13 at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival

Asia’s leading studio CJ Entertainment, the signature film division of major media and content company CJ E&M, will be releasing South Korean box office sensation Veteran in theaters across the U.S. and Canada beginning September 18. The film is a hard-hitting thriller with a comedic touch from South Korean cult auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (Crying Fist, City of Violence). 

Veteran follows Do-cheol – played by Hwang Jung-min (Ode to My Father) – as an irascible detective with a good heart as he seeks revenge and tries to take down the twisted but untouchable scion of a mega-corporation, Jo Tae-oh played by Ah In Yoo (Tough as Iron).

In South Korea, Veteran has hugely resonated as a cathartic ride-along with a true-blue cop, personally delivering justice in a system where the rich and powerful always seem to have the upper hand.

Since its August 5 premiere in South Korea, the film has made ₩60 billion (US$50 million) from 7.69 million admissions. Now Veteran has been selected to make its North American debut on September 13th in the Vanguard section of the 40th Toronto International Film Festival, which will run from September 10-20.

Veteran is presented and distributed by CJ Entertainment and produced by Filmmakers R&K.

I've watched an online screener of the film, and it's terrific. Because of certain restrictions, my review cannot be posted until September 13th at the earliest, so look for it here then or soon after.

For more information, including a full list of theaters where Veteran will be playing, visit www.cj-entertainment.com.

VIZ announces top 10 HOKAGE FOR A DAY video contest entries

Fans Invited To Vote For Favorite Entry To Send Winner

To Meet The Legendary NARUTO Manga Creator

Masashi Kishimoto At New York Comic Con

VIZ Media has announced the final stage of its Hokage for a Day Promotion to celebrate NARUTO and the upcoming first-ever U.S. appearance by the manga series creator Masashi Kishimoto at the 2015 New York Comic Con (NYCC) in October.

Over the past 6 weeks, fans have submitted more than 800 entries to the contest, which encouraged hopeful winners to create a one-minute YouTube video describing what NARUTO means to them. The Hokage for a Day Grand Prize winner and a guest will have the opportunity to meet NARUTO creator Masashi Kishimoto on October 10th during NYCC, and participate in several of Kishimoto’s events during the show. The Grand Prize package also includes airline tickets and hotel accommodations, as well as transportation and a pair of NYCC show passes, courtesy of VIZ Media. The contest winner will be announced by VIZ Media around September 8th.

VIZ Media and ReedPOP, in partnership with The Japan Foundation, will welcome Kishimoto for a very special series of personal appearances at the massive pop culture convention that will take place October 8th-11th at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. Full details on the show are available at: www.newyorkcomiccon.com.

Fans are invited to screen the following videos and by Sunday September 6th, vote for their own favorites at: viz.com/naruto?tab=hokageforaday.

The Inspiring, Top 10 NARUTO Hokage for a Day Video Selections:

Amanda: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Dgf9PHjYU
Amanda showcases her NARUTO collection (amassed over ten years) and her handmade cosplay and artwork!

Brittney McConway: https://youtu.be/4qr-gsZLTRY
NARUTO became the muse for Brittney to start her own life coaching business, which uses a fun anime/manga approach to deal with depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.

Cassidy Kerr: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc49pcwAzsw
Cassidy not only has S-rank NARUTO collection, she was inspired to introduce NARUTO and cosplay to her family/friends!

Christina Faye: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m25JNj5htkk&feature=youtu.be
Christina has been a fan since the manga debut, and is inspired by and cosplays as Sakura.

Custat: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCOY4xmKA2s&feature=youtu.be
Custat animates herself for her video entry, and dreams of becoming a manga-ka!

Dinah Baergas: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWZzGWV30-Q
Dinah is an ardent fan who cosplays as Guy (“Maito Gai”) and also works to improve her community.

Randi Willett: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjFpPHHe_sg
Randi and her twin sister cosplayed as Naruto and Sasuke for over 10 years.

Steven Gathings: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45AT0tPFPs&feature=youtu.be
Steven and his friends create a NARUTO fan film!

Thomas Molina: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePzRnxRWcpA&feature=youtu.be
NARUTO got Thomas through 2 bouts of leukemia, and it became a source of strength to persevere through trying times.

Victor Lee: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AUODewW5lY
The tenets of friendship and teamwork in NARUTO inspired Victor to strive to be a Hokage in his own community, and he volunteers for March of Dimes and Baton Rouge Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation!

The final volume of the NARUTO manga series (rated ‘T’ for Teens) will be published by VIZ Media in print and also digitally in October and brings the long-running ninja action adventure to its thrilling conclusion. The first NARITO spin-off movie, BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE, which launches a new storyline and characters focusing on the son of Naruto, will launch in the Fall.

Additional information on NARUTO and NARUTO SHIPPUDEN is available at www.Naruto.com.

For more information on manga titles available from VIZ Media, visit www.VIZ.com.

CARMEN COMES HOME at Japan Society tonight, Friday, September 4th

Just a quick final reminder that Carmen Comes Home (Karumen Kokyo ni Kaeru, 1951) will be shown tonight at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, NYC. It's a delightful and charming film that should be seen not just for it's historical significance as Japan's first color film, but because it's wonderfully entertaining comedy with a standout performance by Hideko Takamine as the "exotic" dancer Lily Carmen.

Complete information can be found and tickets purchased here.

This screening of Carmen Comes Home is the first film in Japan Society's film series of Monthly Classics, year-round screenings of beloved classics, hidden gems and recent discoveries of Japanese cinema on the first Friday of every month. It is also being shown in recognition of Shochiku's 120th anniversary

Free screening of MOSS with webtoon artist Yoon Tae-ho next Tuesday

Korean Cultural Service NY

and

Asia Society NY

co-present

Korean Movie Night New York

Moss 

Directed by Kang Woo-suk

Starring: Jung Jae-young, Park Hae-il

South Korea, 2010, 115 minutes

When: Wednesday, September 9, 2015 at 6:30pm

Where: Asia Society 725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC

Map

Free Admission; all seating is first come, first served

Doors open @ 6 pm

Moss is a psychological mystery thriller adapted from Yoon Tae-ho’s webtoon of the same, and directed by Korea’s leading blockbuster filmmaker of the 1990’s and 2000’s, Kang Woo-Suk (Two Cops, Public Enemy, Silmido). In a small rural village, the god-like Ryu Mok-hyeong (Heo Jun-ho) is trying to forge a haven for those wishing to be reborn and live untouched by the world's evil. Flash forward to Mok-Hyeong's good-for-nothing son Ryu Hae-Guk (Park Hae-Il, War of the Arrows) arriving for Mok-Hyeong's funeral and who, in attempting to settle his father's estate, discovers a web of interconnected secrets and lies and abuse of power that may ultimately point to murder. Note: English-language version of “Moss” webtoon has debuted on Huffington Post’s Spottoon on August 3rd.

My September 2012 review of the 2-disc Special Edition DVD of Moss, which I rated at 3.5 out of 4 stars, can be found here.

The September 9th screening of Moss is part of Korean Movie Night New York’s Webtoon Comes to the Big Screen series of three films that euns Sep. 9 - Oct. 20, 2015.