Tag Archives: Anime

COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak effects on Conventions

March 6, 2020Anime, Cons, video games, Voice Actors2020 Olyimics, Anime, anime expo, Anime Expo 2020, AnimeJapan, Coronavirus, COVID-19, expo, Game Developers Conference, Japan, Nipppombashi, Nipppombashi Street Festar, Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, SPJA, TokyoKrystal Kitsune

Japan’s biggest anime convention of the year, AnimeJapan was canceled four days before the event was set to take place. Prior to that, the city of Osaka canceled its annual anime festival, Nipppombashi Street Festar which draws over 200K+ people to city’s Denden Town neighborhood. All this in fear of spreading the COVID-19 virus.

Notice on cancellation of Anime Japan 2020

Notice on cancellation of the 16th Nihonbashi Street Festa

Taking the seriousness of the situation into consideration, Olympic 2020 travelers have been wondering if the 2020 Olyimics will suffer the same fate. On March 3rd, an International Olympic Committee spokesperson stated, that there are no plans to postpone or move the Olympics, adding “We made a decision and the decision is the Games go ahead”. The 2020 Olympics is set to take place from July 24th to August 9th 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

In the U.S., the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease was announced on January 21st, Since then there have been over 230 cases reported and growing. Due to fear of infection, popular industry expo, Game Developers Conference was postponed to the Summer of 2020. GDC was supposed to take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.

California’s biggest anime convention Anime Expo is scheduled to still take place in July of this year. The SPJA (Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation) released the following statement regarding Anime Expo status:

With the community taking its precautions, are guest cancellations are unavoidable? For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

We encourage our viewers/readers to take precautions and help reduce the spreading of the COVID-19 virus by washing your hands and keeping general germ reduction in mind when going out in public. The following are prevention guidelines by the CDC:

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.

For more information, please visit the CDC website.

Sources: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5

Interview with voice actress, Dorothy Fahn | On-Camera interview debut!

March 3, 2020Anime, Cosplay, Current Interviews, TKN Exclusive, Voice ActorsAnime, anime voice actors, chihiro fujisaki, Danganronpa, Digimon, Interview, Los Angeles, Orange County, Otaku market gathering, Photography, ronin expo, Ronin expo 2018, Ronin Expo 2019, Ronin Expo 2020, sailor moon, Star Ocean, Trigun, voice, voice acting, Voice actor interviews, Voice Actors, Voice overKrystal Kitsune

We had the honor of interviewing voice actress, Dorothy Fahn during Ronin Expo‘s Otaku Market Gathering in Orange County! This mark Dorothy’s first on-camera interview, all other interviews she’s previously done have been in audio format only. Dorothy is known for voicing Lilymon in Digimon, Meryl Stryfe in Trigun and Chihiro Fujisaki in Danganronpa

She’s married to voice actor Tom Fahn (Voice of Agumon) and is one of four family members to become voice actors, family members include, Jonathan Fahn (Brother-in-law) and Melissa Fahn (Sister-in-law). We’re honored to share Dorothy’s on-camera, interview debut and we hope to interview the rest of the Fahn family.

Interview with: MIKE POLLOCK

February 13, 2020Anime, Cons, Current Interviews, Events, video games, Voice ActorsAnime, Dorothy Fhan, Dr.Eggman, Eggman, Gkids, Gkids Films, Interview, Jak 2, JAK 3, Jak and Daxter, JAK II, mike pollock, Naughty Dog, Naughty Dog Entertainment, Pokemon, PROMARE, Robotnik, SatAM, Sega, sonic, Sonic the hedgehog, sonic x, Ultimate Muscle, Video Game, video games, voice acting, voice actor, Voice actor interviews, Voice over, Weathering with YouKrystal Kitsune

Voice actor Mike Pollock has been in Radio, eBooks, and commercials, but you might recognize him in animation. He’s the Narrator of Pokemon and the notorious Doctor Eggman in the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. He’s also done numerous other characters in anime such, Meat from Ultimate Muscle, Deus Prometh in GKid’s Promare, and most recently, Yasui in Weathering with You.

Subscribe to our channel to updated on upcoming interviews, such as:

Dorothy_Fahn_Collage — This interview will be recorded live during Ronin Expo’s **Otaku Market Gathering at the source OC**. For event information Click here.

Interview with voice actress, Dorothy Fhan voice of Naru Narusegawa in Love Hina, Meryl Stryfe in Trigun, Chihiro Fujisaki in Danganronpa and much more!

Furthermore, we’ll be interview a VERY special guest at the end of this month, her voice was featured in only two games, Jak II and Jak 3 as Tess!

Tess

We’re pleased to announce, former voice actress, Britton Arey will be on our upcoming interview list, if you have any questions for her, please submit them by commenting below or by contacting us using any of these platforms!

Dante Basco’s From Rufio to Zuko

November 17, 2019Anime, Autographs, Events, Giveaways, UncategorizedAmerican Dragon, American Dragon: Jake Long, animation, Anime, Avatar, Avatar The last airbender, Barnes and Nobel, Disney XD, Fire nation, Hook, Jake Long, Movies, Nickelodeon, Photography, Prince Zuko, Robbin Williams, Ruifo, Ruifo to Zuko, steven Spielberg, the last airbender, voice, voice acting, voice actor, Voice Actors, Voice over, ZukoKrystal Kitsune

You may recognize him as Zuko from the hit animated series Avatar The Last Air Bender or maybe even recognize him from Steven Spielberg’s Hook featuring the late, Robbin Williams.

Dante Basco is an actor, voice actor, poet and now an author, releasing his first book, From Rufio to Zuko, a journey into Basco’s personal acting career from an American-Filipino perspective living in the small, industrial town of Pittsburg, California. The book not only covers his career but also, some of his poetry skills as well.

During a book tour event at Barnes and Nobel at The Grove, Basco spoke about his experience being part of the Avatar cast,

“When I originally auditioned for Zuko, I asked them, ‘is this like Danny Zuko or something?‘ I have no clue where the name [Zuko] comes from. The funny thing about Avatar is, [. . .] I go there [Nickelodeon Studios] they give you this script that’s like an anime inspired, epic tail of like martial arts, four-elements — and you’re like, ‘this ain’t Nickelodeon‘, you’re like reading the script and you’re like, ‘is this some Disney XD movie, what is this?’

He goes on,

[. . .] Who’s is this dude? He has a ponytail, he got a scar on his face, chasing this Avatar dude, always yellin’. The whole first season, he’s like ‘honor, honor, honor‘ I’m like, what am I doing? and then all of a sudden, it changed. When I read the script and find out how he got the scared, it was like ‘Who IS this dude?‘.

Crazy things started happening; I remember we were at Sundance [Film Feastival], and I ran into Jason Issac, who plays Genernal Zhao in the show and the older Malfoy in the Hary Potter movies [Refering to Lucius Malfoy] and he was like “Dante! That cartoon we did, WT-f??” you know? because it started to become this phenomenal thing, a CARTOON we did, you know? And this was before comic cons started popping up.”

Basco also went back in time to relive his experience with Robbin Williams on the set of Hook,

“He was like everyone’s favorite uncle, you know, I have a lot of great memories with Robin. Like poetry actually, the Poetry lounge I always, to me in my heart, I’m always connecting it to Robin Williams. [. . .] I grew up a fan like everyone else, [. . .] When I watch Dead Poet Society it was like; It blew my mind. [. . .] We would be able to sit in the make up room, I’m getting my hair done, he’s getting his hair done and we would talk about poetry because he knew how much I love poetry. He’d tell me about his favorite poets and I’d tell about my favorite poets; He was big supporter of me being a poet.”

Remembering Williams, Basco explains,

“When I got to work with him, He’s great! Like, Everything you think Robin is gonna be, the fastest, wittiest, craziest dude in the world, he is! Running 10,00000 miles an hour, so amazing, he’s a god. He IS the Genie from Aladdin, THAT’S who he is. He comes in the room and magic is going to happen just because he’s there and it always does.”

Basco also holds the title of voicing the very first Asian-American (Chinese-American) hero, Jake Long in Disney’s animated series, American Dragon: Jake Long.

Pick a copy of Dante Basco’s newest book, From Ruifo to Zuko now available at your local bookstore, or…

GIVEAWAY

Basco fans now have the opportunity to win this SIGNED copy of Dante Basco’s book, From Rufio to Zuko! All you have to do is share this post on ANY social media platform using #FromRufioToZukoTKN. The winner will be announced on Dec 1st on our FACEBOOK page.

Time to CHECK IN | Hazbin Hotel

November 10, 2019Art, Cartoons, Current Interviews, Giveaways, Los Angeles, TKN Exclusive, Voice ActorsAngel Dust, Anime, anime expo, anime Expo 2019, Cartoon, Cherry bomb, Edward Bosco, Fate Grand Order, Fate/Apocrypha, faye mata, Hazbin Hotel, Hotel Hazbin, Jill Harris, Krystal LaPorte, Michael Kovach, Monica Franco, Vivienne Medrano, VivziepopKrystal Kitsune

The long wait is finally over! HAZBIN HOTEL made its premiere on Oct 28th!

The pilot episode “That’s Entertainment” was released on YouTube by its creator, Vivienne Medrano (Vivziepop). The episode was an instant hit, getting over 7M views in nearly two weeks. During an interview we had with Vivienne Medrano, she spoke about having the series air on a major studio network, depending on how well the pilot episode is received and what type of deal they are offered.

Though the pilot episode became an instant hit among fans, the future of the series is still up in the air. Medrano and her team want to develop an entire season of Hazbin Hotel but for this, as Medrano puts it in our interview, they would need a bigger budget, suggesting a Kickstart campaign to help create an entire season.

Many may know about the characters inside the amazing world of Hazbin Hotel, but very few know who is their voices are. It goes without saying that Hazbin Hotel has a unique and original concept to the story, the same could be said about the cast.

Jill Harris As Charlie the Princess of Hell

Born on 1994 in Clarksville, Tennessee, Jill began her voice acting career with her first game, Loren The Amazon Princess as Myrth. She went on to become a regular voice actor for Funimation projects such as SSSS.Gridman, Overlord III, Black Clover & KanColle: Kantai Collection.

Charlie’s singing voice is Britsh singer and actress, Elsie Lovelock.

Monica Franco As Vaggie, Charlie’s love interest.

According to her IMDB profile, she’s worked on various web series such as JonTron, Final Fantasy VII: Machinabridged, Vampire Pixel in the Neon City alongside, HotDiggedyDemon’s Luigi’s Day Out and Pony.Mov

Michael Kovach As Angel Dust, a resident of Hell and former gay porn star.

According to his IMDB profile, Kovach began his professional career in 2014 with his first project being, Danganwrestling as Monokuma, Goldust & Paul Heyman. He later went on to voice numerous characters in video games such as Lucid9: Inciting Incident, Highway Blossoms, and an upcoming 3D platformer/puzzle game, Billie Bust Up.

Edward Bosco As Alastor, also know as ‘The Radio Demon’

Born on 1986 in Chicago, Illinois, Edward began his career with MMORPG video game, Vindictus. He went on to voice Aharah in Dust: An Elysian Tail and in later years worked on Bang! Zoom Entertainment projects such as Sword Art Online, Hunter x Hunter, Gods Eater Burst and B: The Beginning.

Alastor’s singing voice is voice actor, Odell Atkinson.

Other voice actors include Joshua Tomar (Tom Trench), Krystal LaPorte (Cherry Bomb), and Vivienne Medrano (additional voices).

y2mate.com - hazbin_hotel_pilot_Zlmswo0S0e0_1080p 914

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During Anime Expo 2019, we interviewed voice actress Faye Mata voice of Katie Killjoy, who spoke with us about her career and her role in Hazbin Hotel.

Now that pilot episode is completed and released, its only matter of time before it gets picked up by a major network or if, Vivienne and her team will continue to Self-produce the series with the help of loyal fans. For more updates, exclusive Hazbin Hotel content and other exciting news, follow Vivienne on Twitter. Watch the pilot episode below, make to read till the end of this article for a special giveaway:

In the meantime, fans can rejoice in Hazbin Hotel merchandise that is now available. Pins, sketchbooks, and shirts are all available on VivziePop’s official SharkRobot account.

GIVEAWAY

Share our post on social media and Win!

Just share this post on ANY social media platform using #HazbinHotelTKN, and you’ll be automatically entered to win this, Portrait of Angel Dust Pin designed by artist, CalMoray. The winner will be announced on Dec 1st on our FACEBOOK page.

Don’t wanna wait? You can purchase the very limited stock, portrait of Angel pin, on Vivziepop’s shop here.

COACH X MICHAEL B. JORDAN Debut NARUTO Manga-Inspired Fashion Line

October 3, 2019Anime, Art, Los Angeles, MangaAnime, Coach, fashion, hollywood, manga, MICHAEL B. JORDAN, Naruto, otaku, stuart Vevers, VIZ MediaKrystal Kitsune

Coach has announced their newest fashion line in collaboration with Michael B. Jordan! Introducing…

COACH X MICHAEL B. JORDAN!

Inspired by his cultural influences and community, his love of the popular anime series, Naruto, and his passion for bringing unique voices to the forefront, this unisex ready-to-wear, footwear and bag collection is Jordan’s first foray into fashion design, guided by the expertise of Coach Creative Director, Stuart Vevers.

Coach Creative Director, Stuart Vevers | Photo is the property of the respective owner.

“Working with Mike is always a great experience,” said Vevers, adding “He’s a great collaborator because he always puts his heart and soul into everything he does and because he brought something authentic and personal to the collection.”

A still of Micheal B. Jordan in “*The Hero*“, a short released by Coach to promotion this collection. View the clip below.

“With my name on this collection, it was important to design pieces that represent my cultural influences and my community; pieces that I could see my friends, family, and fans wearing with pride,” said Jordan. “As with all aspects of my work, this collection is about bringing fresh perspectives and unique voices to the forefront. Expanding into the fashion design space was rewarding beyond my expectations. I’m grateful to Stuart and Coach for providing me with the opportunity and expertise to execute a collection
I’m extremely proud of.”

In partnership with VIZ Media, the collection combines Coach craftsmanship with Jordan’s affinity for functional fashion and visual aspects from the world of Naruto.

Product ranges from parkas, jean jackets, and pullovers to backpacks, utility packs and hybrid sneaker boots. Infused with technical details like removable sleeves, tactical straps, and elastic closures, it also features imagery of characters from Naruto, as well as the series’ trademark “eye” motifs reimagined with Coach’s Retro C graphic.

© 2019 COACH IP HOLDINGS LLC. COACH, COACH SIGNATURE C DESIGN, COACH & TAG DESIGN, COACH HORSE & CARRIAGE DESIGN ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF COACH IP HOLDINGS LLC.

Along with the launch of the collection, a short film titled, The hero was conceived by Jordan and directed by Rachel Morrison, who collaborated with Jordan previously as the director of photography on Black Panther. Taking place in a neon-drenched Tokyo street, and moves between moments of modern-day grit and magical realism, placing an emphasis on the power of connection.

Coach will also celebrate the collection with global pop-ups in Japan, Malaysia, and the United States. The products are also available at the VIZ Media booth at New York Comic Con on October 3-6, and a range of limited-edition T-shirts.

Coach x Michael B. Jordan collection is now available online at Coach.com and in stores.

VIZ Media’s First Original Anime Series! | SEIS MANOS

September 18, 2019Animation Studios, Anime, Cartoons, Voice ActorsAislinn Derbez, Angelica Vale, Anime, Álvaro Rodríguez, Brad Graeber, brand new anime, CASTLEVANIA, Daniel Dominguez, Danny Trejo, Jonny Cruz, Mike Colter, Powerhouse Animation, Powerhouse Animation Studios, Seis Manos, Vic Chao, VIZ Media, Willis BullinerKrystal Kitsune

VIZ Media, Netflix and Powerhouse Animation Studios announce their newest anime series, SEIS MANOS.

Seis Manos is an upcoming adult animated television series created by Brad Graeber and Álvaro Rodríguez. The series is VIZ Media’s first original animated property and was developed and produced with Powerhouse Animation Studios (CASTLEVANIA, Masters of the Universe: Revelation).

The series will feature a star-studded cast which will include notable actors, Aislinn Derbez (La Casa de las Flores) as Isabela, Mike Colter (Luke Cage) as Brister, Jonny Cruz (Overwatch) as Jesus, Angelica Vale (Jane The Virgin) as Garcia, Vic Chao (Mortal Kombat X) as Chiu, and Danny Trejo (Machete) as El Balde.

Aislinn Derbez

Mike Colter

Jonny Cruz

Angelica Vale

Vic Chao

Danny Trejo speaking at the 2017 Phoenix Comicon in Phoenix, Arizona. | Photo by Gage Skidmore

All eight episodes will premiere with English and Spanish audio and with multiple subtitled language options. The series is set in Mexico in the 1970’s, and will center on three orphaned martial arts warriors who join forces with a DEA agent and a Mexican Federale to battle for justice after their beloved mentor is murdered in their tiny border town. SEIS MANOS will launch globally on Netflix on Thursday, October 3rd, take a first look here:

SEIS MANOS was co-created by Powerhouse Animation Studios CEO Brad Graeber (Supervising Producer, Frederator Studios CASTLEVANIA) and writer Alvaro Rodriguez (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series). Noted screenwriter Daniel Dominguez (Oishi High School Battle, Captain Underpants) is an additional writer on the series, which is directed by Willis Bulliner (Agents of Mayhem).

For information on anime, manga and other titles published by VIZ Media, please visit viz.com

Domino’s Pizza JAPAN releases ‘Tsundere Pizza’

September 3, 2019Anime, Japan ONLYAnime, ドミノ, ドミノピザ, ドミノ・ピザ, ピザ, Body Pillow Waifu, Code Geass, Domino's pizza, pizza, Tsundere, tsundere waifu, WaifuKrystal Kitsune

Anime fans can now enjoy a hostile, aggressively spicy pizza, gradually turning into a warm, nice and mild delicacy.

engnqe — “You might think this jalapeno loaded pizza would be a scorcher, but the cheese coating keeps the flavor nice and mild. This pizza is 4 Happy Range.” – Domino’s Pizza Japanese Website

ドミノ・ピザ or Domino’s Pizza, has a new item in their Japanese menu, TSUNDERE PIZZA! Coming in at 205 calories per slice, the Tsundere pizza might have a scorcher taste but ‘the cheese coating keeps the flavor nice and mild’ much like your tsundere waifu.

Art by Dishwasher1910 © 2019 dishwasher1910

Did anyone say, pizza waifu dinner date?

Unfortunately, this item is only available in Japan. No reviews for this particular pizza have made been as of yet.

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Live in Japan? Would you like to be featured on our website, and help with this specific article? Please contact The Kitsune Network at Contact@TheKitsunetwork.net, Thank You!

Nisei Week 2019 Parade

August 29, 2019Anime, Cosplay, Events, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, Photography, TKN ExclusiveAnime, Anime Jungle, California, Cosplay, Japanese culture, japanese food, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, Niesei Week Festival, Nisei week, Nisei Week 2019, Nisei Week ParadeKrystal Kitsune

The Nisei Week Parade was held in Los Angeles on August 10th, 2019. Originally a 7-day festival celebrating first American born Japanese in Los Angeles.

Although the festival is no longer confined within a week nor is it exclusively targeted to ‘niseis‘, (the first American born Japanese) it is a celebration of Japanese American culture and history in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles.

Nisei week has over the years diversified giving the surrounding community “[…]the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to celebrate Japanese heritage and culture.“. as stated by Michelle Suzuki, Nisei Week Foundation president in 2006. To learn more about Nisei week and its cultural significance, visit their official website here.

Here some of our highlights from the parade

J-pop band, Bishonen

Band members; Ryuga Sato, Yuto Nasu & Hidaka Ukisho. Represented by Japan’s male idol talent agency, Johnny & Associates (also known as, Johnny’s).

_DSC0125 — Montebello-Ashiya Sister city program representatives

Montebello-Ashiya Sister city program

Over fifty years after an international agreement between the two distant cities, one in the United States, and one in far-off Japan, the international sister city agreement between Montebello and Ashiya, Japan, continues to be vital and strong. Created to help people understand and implement tolerance of cultural differences and an awareness of people’s qualities and attributes.

Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen and Princesses

Princess Nami Katie Saito, Princess Elena Harumi Nielsen, Princess Stephanie Reiko Gee, First Princess Naomi Leilani Furukawa, Queen Yuki Nishimura.

2019 Nisei Week Queen & Court
Princess Ariel Mei Imamoto, Princess Emily Yuiko Ishida, First Princess Mia Masae Lopez, 2019 Nisei Week Queen Juli Yoshinaga, Miss Tomodachi Kara Chizuru Ito, Princess Marika Kate Gotschall, and Princess Kayla Sachiko Igawa.

Entertainment Hobby Shop Jungle

Osaka based, anime retail store, Anime Jungle! Jungle has everything from Anime and Tokusatsu merchandise include toys, figures, DVDs, Apparels to rare anime figures!

Nisei Week 2019 parade gallery

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Studio TRIGGER’s first film, PROMARE in theaters | English Cast Announced | GKIDS Films

August 27, 2019Anime, Events, Films/Movies, Los Angeles, Voice ActorsAnime, anime expo, anime Expo 2019, anime movies, Billy Bob Thompson, Crispin Freeman, Erica Lindbeck, Gainax, Gkids, GURREN LAGANN, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Johnny Yong Bosch, Kari Wahlgren, Kill La Kill, Matt Mercer, mike pollock, PROMARE, Steve Blum, Studio TRIGGER, voice, voice acting, Voice Actors, Voice over, Yuri LowenthalKrystal Kitsune

PROMARE marks the very first feature film from Studio TRIGGER, founded by former studio Gainax animator and director Hiroyuki Imaishi. Imaishi credits include the award-winning TV series GURREN LAGANN and critically acclaimed KILL la KILL.

GKIDS and Fathom Events bring PROMARE to U.S. theaters nationwide for special event screenings on September 17th and 19th, followed by a theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on September 20, 2019. For more information and to purchase movie tickets, visit their PROMARE’s ticket website here.

GKIDS has announced the English voice cast for PROMARE. The film will feature the voices of Billy Kametz (NEON GENESIS Series), Johnny Yong Bosch (BLEACH, AKIRA, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS), Crispin Freeman (MIRAI), and Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (POKEMON, YU-GI-OH!), among others.

English Voice Cast

Billy Kametz – Galo Thymos
Johnny Yong Bosch – Lio Fotia
Crispin Freeman – Kray Foresight
Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld — Aina Ardebit
Neil Kaplan — Vulcan Haestus
Erica Lindbeck — Heris Ardebit
Kari Wahlgren — Lucia Fex
Steve Blum — Ignis Ex
Mike Pollock — Deus Prometh
John Bentley — Varys Truss
Billy Bob Thompson — Remi Puguna
Matt Mercer — Gueira
Yuri Lowenthal –Meis
Melissa Fahn — Biar Colossus

PROMARE Synopsis is as follows:

Thirty years has passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves “Mad Burnish” appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team “Burning Rescue,” and Lio Fotia, the leader of “Mad Burnish” begins. PROMARE uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story and is the spiritual successor to many of director Hiroyuki Imaishi’s former works.

BUY TICKETS HERE