Anime Addicts @ the Movies - Summer Wars (Samā Wōzu)

Genre:  Action, Comedy,  Romance, Thriller
Creator:  Mamoru Hosoda
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Voice Actors: Brina Palencia as Natsuki Shinohara
Michael Sinterniklaas as Kenji Koiso
J. Michael Tatum as Wabisuke Jinnouchi
Maxey Whitehead as Kazuma Ikezawa
Pam Dougherty as Sakae Jinnouchi
Distributed By:  FUNimation

Rated PG
114 Minutes
2009

Kenji is your typical teenage misfit.  He's good at math, bad with girls, and spends most of his time hanging out in the all-powerful, online community known as OZ.  His second life is the only life he has - until the girl of this dreams, Natsuki, hijacks him for a starring role as a fake fiancé at her family reunion. Things only get stranger from there.  A late-night email containing a cryptic mathematic riddle leads to the unleashing of a rogue AI intent on using the virtual world of OZ to destroy the real world, literally.  As armageddon looms on the horizon, Kenji and his new "family" set aside their differences and band together to save the worlds they inhabit in this "near-perfect blend of social satire and science fiction."  - AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Come out for a special edtiion of Anime Addicts where we will be watching the award winning Summer Wars (Samā Wōzu) on the big screen, courtesy of FUNimation. Join fellow Otaku to watch anime, discuss manga, and help add content to the A Graphic Invasion blog. Watch a different anime every 3rd Thursday of each month from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The popcorn’s on us.

Date:  July 21, 2011
Ages:  12 and Up
Location:  Indian River Meeting Room

Anime Addicts is sponsored by FUNimation's Operation Anime.

Anime Addicts @ Indian River Library April Meeting

Genre:  Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi
Creator:  Mine Yoshizaki
ADR Director: Jamie Marchi
Voice Actors: Todd Haberkorn as Keroro
R Bruce Elliott as Narrator
Cherami Leigh as Natsumi
Christopher R. Sabat as Giroro
Brina Palencia as Tamama
Distributed By:  FUNimation

Rated TV-PG
24 Minutes per Episode
2004

Keroro is Sergeant Frog - the leader of a platoon of warriors sent to conquer planet Earth. But when the amphibious invaders discovered how much humans enjoy dissecting their comrades, the troops were scattered, the mission was aborted, and Keroro was abandoned. Now, this once proud soldier spends more time wielding a vacuum than he does the weapons of war. It's a far cry from the glory of battle, but hey, at least he's got his own room. And though the invasion may have slowed to a hop, Sergeant Frog still occasionally yearns to overcome his karaoke addiction and reassemble his troops. Watch out world, the frogs are taking over.

Join fellow Otaku to watch anime, discuss manga, and help add content to the A Graphic Invasion blog. Watch a different anime every 3rd Thursday of each month from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The popcorn’s on us.

Ages:  12-18 Years
Location:  Indian River Meeting Room

Anime Addicts is sponsored by FUNimation's Operation Anime.

Neko Ramen (Volume 1) by Kenji Sonishi (Story and Art)

Title:  Neko Ramen: Hey! Order Up!, Volume 1
Author:  Kenji Sonishi (Story and Art)
Location:  GRAPHIC NOVEL YA KENJI VOL. 1
Audience:  Teen (Ages 13 and Up)

Taisho runs a ramen shop... and he's a cat.  The funny thing is, he doesn't think it's strange to have a cat make and sell ramen.  When you walk in to his shop, be prepared to have any ingredient or topping served in your bowl.  You can follow Taisho's adventures from starting out as a cat model to making his own way to a ramen chef with his own ramen shop.  You will meet a wide variety of characters along the way including Taisho's baby brothers.

Neko Ramen is not your average manga.  It is actually a yonkoma (or 4-koma) which is a gag comic strip.  It is sort of like short stories as each story is told in four panels starting from the top and finishing at the bottom.  Although the stories are not dependent on one another, they come together to create an overal  story that makes you fall in love with Taisho.  With Taisho in most of his scenes is the ever faithful customer Tanaka-san.  Through Tanaka-san we learn more about Taisho and his very strange life as a cat Ramen Chef.  This manga really is quite clever and funny and appeals to both people who like cats and ramen.  From extremely ridiculous ramen ingredients to learning about Taisho's secret past as a cat model, there are many laughs to be had.  Once you start reading you will not want to stop.

The art style to Neko Ramen is rather simplistic.  What really makes it fun to read are all the facial expressions.  There may not be much to the backgrounds or character designs, but the facial expressions really aid the storytelling process.

You can find the Neko Ramen manga by Kenji Sonishi on the CPL catalog.  If you enjoyed Neko Ramen, you may want to try Hetalia-Axis Powers by Hidekaz Himaruya or Chi's Sweet Home by Kanata Konami.

A Neko Ramen Sneak Peek

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

On Friday, March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 (upgraded from 8.9) earthquake hit off the coast of Japan near the city of Sendai, which unleashed a 23-foot tsunami leaving death and disaster in its wake.  In the days since we have seen the news updates from the devastating effects of the earthquake and tsunami to the nuclear crisis.  We have also seen how the Japanese people have come together to support each other.

News and Updates

To see the latest information coming out of Japan, there are a variety of sources to get your news from.  Listed below are several sites where you can keep up to date on the news coming from Japan.

NHK World (English)
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv

Twitter
@sayaJRCS – Japan Red Cross Society
@RedCross
#Tsunami
#eqjp
#jpquake
#prayforjapan
#Sendai

Facebook
Pray for Japan
Japancast.net

Google responded instantly to this crisis by creating a crisis center page where you can get realtime updates and information regarding the disaster.

2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Crisis Response
http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

How You Can Help

From the start, the world has shown their support for Japan by sending messages of support, sending rescue aid workers, and donating money.  Locally, the Asian Association of Hampton Roads has gotten together and are planning fundraising events.  To get further information and to donate, please see their website.

Asian Association of Hampton Roads
http://www.aa-hr.com/

Anime Addicts @ Indian River Library March Meeting

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Creator:  Yasuhiro Nightow
ADR Director: Joe Romersa
Voice Actors: Dorothy Melendrez as Meryl Stryfe
Jeff Nimoy as Nicholas D. Wolfwood
Johnny Yong Bosch as Vash the Stampede
Lia Sargent as Milly Thompson
Distributed By:  FUNimation

Rated TV-14
30 Minutes per Episode
2006

Vash the Stampede is a wanted man with a habit of turning entire towns into rubble. The price on his head is a fortune, and his path of destruction reaches across the arid wastelands of a desert planet. Unfortunately, most encounters with the spiky-haired gunslinger don't end well for the bounty hunters who catch up with him; someone almost always gets hurt - and it's never Vash. Oddly enough, for such an infamous fugitive, there's no proof that he’s ever taken a life. In fact, he's a pacifist with a doughnut obsession who's more doofus than desperado. There's a whole lot more to him than his reputation lets on - Vash the Stampede definitely ain't your typical outlaw.

Join fellow Otaku to watch anime, discuss manga, and help add content to the A Graphic Invasion blog. Watch a different anime every 3rd Thursday of each month from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The popcorn’s on us.

Ages:  12-18 Years
Location:  Indian River Meeting Room

Anime Addicts is sponsored by FUNimation's Operation Anime.

Anime Addicts @ Indian River Library February Meeting

February 17th - Black Cat

Genre:  Action, Comedy
Creator:  Kentaro Yabuki
ADR Director: Tyler Walker
Voice Actors: Jason Liebrecht as Train Heartnet
Brandon Potter as Sven Volfied
Brina Palencia as Eve
Jamie Marchi as Rinslet Walker
Distributed By:  FUNimation

Rated TV-PG
24 Minutes per Episode
2005

“I’ve come to deliver some bad luck.”

Sven is your run-of-the-mill sweeper (a.k.a. bounty hunter) – down on his luck, haunted by the perpetual grumbling of this stomach and looking to make enough cash just to get by. Oh, and he can see the future, but only about five minutes into it. When a dirty politician lands a price on his head, this sweeper jumps at the chance to turn a quick buck. But as he’s working to secure the target, his vision reveals an assassination that will cost him the job. A confrontation with the mysterious killer and Sven has no idea that he’s brushed up against the worst possible luck…

Join fellow Otaku to watch anime, discuss manga, and help add content to the A Graphic Invasion blog. Watch a different anime every 3rd Thursday of each month from 4:00-6:00 p.m. The popcorn’s on us.

Ages:  12-18 Years
Location:  Indian River Meeting Room

Anime Addicts is sponsored by FUNimation's Operation Anime.

Chesapeake Public Library Anime Festival

Chesapeake Public Library Anime Festival

January 8, 2011

11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Greenbrier Library

1214 Volvo Parkway

Chesapeake, VA 23320

Map and Directions

Preregister for the Event