>>3254 >Manga Publisher Wants Cloudflare to Expose Operators of Popular ‘Piracy’ Sites First it was Daily Stormer, then it was 8chan, then it was Kiwifarms, now it's Manga.

<Adult Swim Reveals Trailers for Uzumaki, Ninja Kamui, FLCL: Grunge Anime >Adult Swim revealed trailers for the Uzumaki, Ninja Kamui, and FLCL: Grunge anime on Saturday. FLCL: Grunge will debut on September 9, and Ninja Kamui will premiere later this year. The video for Uzumaki does not reveal a debut window, but Jason DeMarco confirmed on Twitter the anime is coming later this year https://archive.is/XdB7c Also Netflix put out a trailer for One Piece that I missed.

>>3254 Always pirate. Never buy.

>>3433 That cgi flcl is awful looking. I really feel bad for kids these days, the shit they pump out for them is so bad.

>>3480 It looks like something you'd see on cartoon network, one of those failed/ugly 3D cartoons

A bit surprised I haven't seen anyone talking about this.

>>3575 >Netflix >western IP what a waste of animation talent, but then again this is apparently by Science Saru so its not like they have anything better to do, its probably better than their other dogshit I guess people who liked Scott Pilgrim will probably be happy.

>>3480 Yeah. Reminds me how that Trigun remake looked like fractured ass. >>3575 I haven't cared about Scott Pilgrim in a very long time.

Go woke go broke. Yo ho ho.

>>3723 What happened this time?

>>2863 (OP) Yeah.. If he is half Brazilian, that would mean he was around darker tones at a younger age. I'm glad our mangaka is not afraid to put quality over the goals of backseat writers

Western Switch release of Kanon is confirmed to receive additional censorship that was not present in it's Japanese Switch release: https://archive.md/ICRgm#81

>>4547 Is it by the localizers, Nintendo of America, or both?

>>4549 As far as we know, it appears to be on Nintendo: >>>/bv/9

Japan is fighting with the U.N., halts funding and refuses to attend events: https://archive.ph/8EEog https://xcancel.com/Arin_Yumi/status/1892421190964433193 This is right on the heels of the announcement that the U.S. will also be withdrawing from the U.N.: >>>/pol/22318

>>4559 Revere the Emperor. Expel the barbarians.

>>4564 The Dangers in My Heart Season 2 won Anime Corner's AOTY award, narrowly beating Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by just 0.18%.

<This is causing quite the stir. The following articles are in Japanese. Summations and translations of their content are provided by: https://xcancel.com/Arin_Yumi >Trump voices dissatisfaction with the Japan-U.S. Alliance, says "The United States is obligated to protect Japan, but Japan has no obligation to protect the United States under any circumstances." https://archive.ph/CgSH8 >Japan pushes back against Trump's claim that the alliance is one-sided: >Ishiba said, "Japan is obligated to provide bases for the U.S. military, and our relationship is not merely one where America unilaterally protects Japan." >Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, citing security legislation passed under the Abe administration that permits Japan to assist its allies through collective defense, said "Japan and the U.S. can now seamlessly support each other in any situation, greatly strengthening the alliance's deterrence." https://archive.ph/NSDDo And even West Taiwan is getting in on the discussion: >China warns Japan against remilitarization, says "Japan has a duty to prevent the revival of militarism in their country" https://archive.ph/DAvj5

>There has been an increase in young Japanese men seeking relationships with significantly older women, with men in their early 20s are showing more interest in women who are 10 to 15 years older. >According to a marriage consultant, the reason for the rise in popularity is that older women are seen as tolerant and patient with younger men, seeing them like "younger brothers". They also believe they can "educate" them into good partners. In contrast, younger women marrying for the first time tend to have higher expectations and unrealistic ideals, making relationships harder to maintain. https://xcancel.com/Arin_Yumi/status/1898657076139991061

>>4601 >seeing them like younger brothers >they believe they can "educate" them into good partners Young whores with absurd standards are obviously bad (and its unfortunate to hear this trend hitting Japan as well), but this "solution" doesn't sound much better.

>GOP Texas bill could jail you for owning or watching Goblin Slayer and more https://archive.is/dRmkf <The new bill would purportedly make it a crime to own a multitude of popular Japanese manga – including Goblin Slayer, Fruits Basket, and many others. The office of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick posted in support of the bill right after it passed the Senate, and will soon head to the governor’s office to be signed. <The bill in question is Senate Bill 20. Sponsored by GOP senator Pete Flores, the bill, in its own words, “creates a new state offense for the possession or promotion of obscene material that appears to depict a child younger than 18 years old, regardless of whether the depiction is of an actual child, cartoon or animation, or an image created using an artificial intelligence application or other computer software.” <Furthermore, subparagraph c of the bill states: “An offense under this section is a state jail felony,” directing first-time offenders convicted under this law to a minimum of five years in prison, simply for owning or viewing such material. <As many responses have pointed out, many popular manga would be banned in Texas if this law is signed into law, which certainly seems like it will at this point. Goblin Slayer is the example many are pointing to, due to the infamous assault scenes of characters by goblins in the early issues. <But even tamer manga’s like Fruits Basket could be criminalized under this law, depending on how broad a judge or state prosecutor wishes to interpret “sexual acts” in a court of law. Only children’s manga’s such as Pokémon and Sailor Moon seem to be safe under a literal reading of the law. Reminder that The Miller Tests, the "official rule" that determines what is considered "obscene" in the U.S., is in the same position as Roe v. Wade. As it is not a law in any capacity whatsoever. It's just a legistlative act that was developed out of thin air. And ever created by the very same SCOTUS justice who established RvW in the first fucking place.

>U.S. Envoy Nominee Glass Shows Tough Stance on Japan https://archive.ph/DPNw9 <Washington, March 13 (Jiji Press)--George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to be his ambassador to Japan, on Thursday vowed to increase pressure on the U.S ally on trade and defense spending. <"If confirmed, I would have tough conversations on tariffs and reducing our trade deficit with Japan," Glass said in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. <"I would make sure Japan continues to increase its support for the defense of the region, our alliance and our troops to ensure peace and security in the Indo-Pacific," he said. <Glass also said, "I would work tirelessly to make the U.S.-Japan relationship even stronger than I found it." <Referring to Japan's plan to increase its defense expenditures to 2 pct of its gross domestic product in fiscal 2027, he said that he would discuss the plan to make it "favorable for both sides." >The Left-wing Social Democratic Party faces a real threat of losing its status as a National Party this year if it performs poorly in the upcoming House of Councillors election, as recent polls show dismal numbers. >The party, known for its extreme pacifist stance, advocates for proposals like abolishing the Self-Defense Forces, deeming them an "illegal organization," removing all U.S. military bases from Japan, and suggesting that Japan should surrender without resistance in the event of war to minimize unnecessary destruction and casualties. https://archive.ph/27Wjl <To show you how important it is for a party to become national, here are some of the perks national parties receive: <National parties receive public funding based on their electoral performance, allowing them to finance campaigns and operations more effectively. <National parties often enjoy greater media coverage, which helps in disseminating their message and reaching a wider audience. This includes being able to participate in debates and opinion polls. <Being recognized as a national party lends credibility and legitimacy, attracting voters and potential candidates. <They can forge alliances with other political entities, both domestically and internationally, to strengthen their position and influence. <National parties can participate in coalition governments, providing them with more power and influence in national politics. <They have more resources to conduct research and develop comprehensive policy proposals, allowing for more informed decision-making. <National parties often have better access to campaign resources, including expertise in strategy, communications, and fundraising. <They are generally better positioned to recruit candidates for election due to their status as a major party.

>>4608 MASSIVE update on this: >>>/site/10103 >Beginning on January 1st, several countries and US States had laws go into effect concerning AI generated porn. Think like the law currently being debated in Texas, except there's already 12 States that passed it, and many, many countries. This snuck up on us, as it wasn't widely reported in any free-speech channels and we never saw much protest or other dust kicked up that would draw attention to it. Most of these laws are surface aimed at Deepfake images used for harassment purposes, but several, like the one in Texas, also pose a serious threat to the existence of *any and all* fictional content that so much as resembles a minor. The retardation that we saw years ago in Australia went International, and nobody was the wiser until it was already in effect all over.

>>4612 Texas's laws don't stand a chance if they ever make it to the Supreme Court. This kind of issue was already decided in the past and free speech has the highest level of scrutiny. Problem is it might take a while to reach it.

>>4613 >Problem is it might take a while to reach it. THIS. It's about creating a chilling effect. They want corporate and social attitudes to change, even if the law gets totally done away with, which could take years. And there simply isn't much that businesses can do in the meantime.

>Unification Church Ordered to Dissolve by Tokyo District Court; Religious Group Can File Appeal to High Court (Update 1) https://archive.ph/tO3n1 <The Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church, formerly called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, under the Religious Corporations Law on Tuesday. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry submitted a request for dissolution in October 2023 on the grounds that the Unification Church had repeatedly committed illegal acts under the Civil Code by illegally soliciting people to make large donations. >Japanese shrine rebuilt by Ghost of Tsushima fans bans tourists after “unforgivable” act https://archive.ph/ROinN <Watazumi Shrine is an iconic Shinto shrine that is located on the island of Tsushima, the main location of Sucker Punch Productions critically acclaimed Ghost of Tsushima video game. Although this exact shrine isn’t featured in the game, fans did famously help raise $260k in 2021 to help rebuild the shrine after a torii gate collapsed during a typhoon. <Since then, the Watazumi Shrine has been a popular place for domestic and international tourists to visit. However, visiting the religious grounds will now not be possible for anyone besides parishioners and worshippers. <According to an official announcement posted on Instagram, the decision to ban all tourists came after “a grave and unforgivable act of disrespect [was] committed by foreigner(s).” As for what the “unforgivable act” was remains uncertain, but we do know that it transpired on March 22, just days after the Japanese government had addressed concerns over the vandalism of places of worship. <As previously reported by Tokyo Weekender, priests have been dealing with tourists smoking, littering, using ethnic slurs, and singing and dancing. Back in June 2024, Watazumi Shrine caused a lot of controversy after it banned South Korean tourists from entering the shrine. <Well, starting from March 23, entry to the shrine grounds will be prohibited to all domestic and international tourists – besides parishioners and worshippers. <The official machine-translated post mentions that staff members of the shrine have had to put up with “unbearable mental anguish” caused by the sacred grounds being desecrated, which has led to them feeling that the shrine is in jeopardy. <“The way in which inbound tourism is destroying the places, things, and people that Japanese people hold dear is nothing less than the collapse of Japanese culture. We would like to express our regret here and will take action to protect the shrine and the hearts of the people.” Right now it appears that the culprits are Gooks: https://archive.ph/eU5TM Just as a side note, another shrine banned tourists this past week, however THAT was in response to AssCreed: >>>/v/1082612

>Japanese archive of out-of-print manga crowdfunded back into existence following Visa and Mastercard suspensions https://archive.fo/2JKAd <Manga Library Z (previously J-Comi) is an online manga archive originally launched in 2010 by Love Hina manga artists and politician Ken Akamatsu. The platform was created to help preserve old and out-of-print manga titles in digital format. All manga on the archive was hosted for free with permission from the original artists and publishers, with an ad revenue- and premium subscription-based system in place to compensate artists financially. <However, in November last year, Manga Library Z announced that it would be shutting down after 14 years of service. Due to the platform hosting adult manga (among other genres), their payment processors abruptly terminated payment contracts, and credit card payments were suspended on the site. This apparently happened despite Manga Library Z complying with “an international credit card brand’s request that we suspend the distribution of works containing specific words.” <As a result, the archive was left without a stable source of revenue to return to its contributing manga artists and thus decided to shut down, with a promise of returning once an alternative was found. <Fortunately, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign hosted on Motion Gallery, Manga Library Z will be reopening. The campaign started in early February and has since amassed over 8.8 million yen (around $60k USD), surpassing its original target of 3 million yen by a large margin. The site is expected to be up and running in late April.

Just like in recent European election, it appears that Japan's political parties are forming an alliance, specifically between the CDP and the DPFP, to dethrone the "politically Right" LDP: https://archive.ph/gJ2Qb "Apparently" the CDP has mellowed out from their previous stances being more in line with the Communists (The JCP), but I don't quite know how true that is: https://archive.ph/sNR94 Also Japan is preparing for war with West Taiwan: https://archive.ph/3oidO >Japan draws up plan to evacuate 120,000 Okinawa islanders near Taiwan

>Japan prepares for war with new joint command, evacuation plans and missile unit deployments https://archive.ph/21bQb <The contours of Japan’s war plans are becoming clearer as the Defence Ministry in recent weeks launched its Joint Operations Command, or JJOC, and confirmed its first evacuation plans for Okinawa civilians. <Japan has, in recent years, already been deploying missile units to its south-west to bolster its so-called “counterstrike capabilities”. As the next step, it intends to station surface-to-air missiles on Yonaguni – Japan’s westernmost point, located 2,000km from Tokyo but just 110km from Taiwan. <It also reportedly aims to install long-range anti-ship missiles on Kyushu from around March 2026, which will put North Korea and coastal Chinese cities such as Shanghai within the crosshairs. Is West Taiwan ready to have their ass pounded a third time by the power of anime?

>>4627 isnt't the LDP like a one-party state, it seems whatever they do they get most of the votes.

>In response to Trump's "America First" economic policy, Sanae Takaichi called for a similar "Japan First" approach, declaring, "Japan should do the same—keep manufacturing at home." https://archive.ph/t7AQV YES, YES! Why are you NOT already doing this!

>Live streamers in Japan have now started a trend of climbing cherry blossom trees https://archive.ph/Eemqk

>Constitutional Referendum: How Should Spread of False Information Be Prevented? https://archive.ph/whQtv <At a meeting of the Commission on the Constitution of the House of Representatives, there was a free discussion on how to deal with false information on social media in the event of a national referendum on constitutional revisions. Many opinions were voiced one after another from both the ruling and opposition parties, saying that fact-checking to verify the truth of information was important. <In the Hyogo gubernatorial election and the Nagoya mayoral election last year, there was a flood of fake posts and unverified information on social media, and it is believed that they had an impact on the election results. <A similar situation could also occur in a national referendum. For example, it is possible that either the forces in favor of or against a constitutional revision could try to influence the direction of the debates by spreading groundless scandals and undermining the credibility of lawmakers who argue against their opinions. <An environment must be created so that people with a variety of opinions can freely and calmly discuss the way the nation’s supreme law should be and to allow the people to be able to make appropriate judgments. <At the committee meeting on Thursday, the opinions of the various parties differed regarding the kind of organizations that should conduct the fact-checking. <Members of the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito argued that it would be appropriate to avoid the involvement of public institutions and to entrust privately run fact-checking organizations with such work, out of consideration for the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. <The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan called for the referendum publicity council, which will be set up in the Diet to handle publicity activities for referendums, to get involved in examining potentially false information.

>Feminist Groups Call For Total Ban on Ecchi – ‘It’s Not Art, It’s Just Softcore’ https://archive.is/zG4u4 <A wave of activism has erupted after several international feminist organizations jointly launched a campaign to ban ecchi anime from mainstream streaming platforms. The movement, named “No More Fanservice,” directly targets series known for sexualized content, arguing they normalize the objectification of women under the guise of animation. Their demands have sparked uproar throughout the anime community. <The campaign’s lead organizers cite anime like Prison School, High School DxD, and To Love Ru as egregious offenders. In a formal letter sent to Netflix and Crunchyroll, the groups argue that ecchi content “fails to offer artistic or narrative merit” and instead “thrives on the exploitation of female bodies for male pleasure.” <Activists claim these shows are accessible to underage viewers and bypass age restrictions due to the anime medium being perceived as harmless or comedic. “You wouldn’t allow this in live-action teen shows—why is it okay in anime?” said one campaign spokesperson in an interview with BBC News. <... <While no major platform has issued an official statement, industry insiders told The Japan Times that discussions are underway behind the scenes. Licensing companies worry about bad press but are equally concerned about alienating loyal audiences. <Some creators have pushed back, defending their work as a form of stylized, exaggerated fiction. “There’s a difference between titillation and harm,” wrote one ecchi manga artist in a now-viral X post. “You don’t have to like it, but it’s part of our artistic spectrum.”

>>4675 That's likely a fake article, all the links don't lead to anything.

>As textbooks are swopped for tablets, Japan’s push for digital education divides views https://archive.ph/kzLW5 <A Japanese high school began offering a metaverse programme in 2024, allowing students to attend classes by donning a virtual reality (VR) headset. <Yushi International High School, in south-west Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture, is pushing the boundaries of education in its three-year high school diploma programme, where students first get to know one another by their avatars and nicknames. <This is a unique example of a digital classroom in Japan, with Yushi International benefiting from different Education Ministry regulations for distance-learning schools and international schools. <But more generally, the national government has set its sights on the use of digital textbooks being the norm from the academic year starting April 2030, by giving classrooms the option to go fully online. >Japan’s Population Declining Faster Than Anticipated, Threatening National Pension Scheme https://archive.ph/cvrsN <Japan’s natural population change has marked its largest ever drop, according to estimates released by the government on Monday. The figure is calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births. <The percentage of those age 65 or older also reached a record high. <The government intends to continue birth rate measures of a “different dimension,” as set forth by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and to improve these measures, but it has not been able to effectively deal with population decline, which is advancing at a pace faster than it had anticipated. <“For many people who want to have children, their dream hasn’t come true,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference Monday. “We will promote comprehensive measures to realize a society where everyone who wishes to have children can have children.” >Richard Armitage, Ex-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Dies at 79; American Expert on Japan Helped Deepen Japan-U.S. Alliance https://archive.ph/TeNr8 <Under the administration of former President Ronald Reagan, he held the position of assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. <From 2001 to 2005, he was the deputy secretary of state under the administration of then President George W. Bush. <In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, Armitage called on nations around the world to cooperate in a campaign to sweep the Taliban out of Afghanistan. <He strongly urged Japan to contribute to the campaign, which led the country to establish special antiterrorist legislation that paved the way for the Self-Defense Forces to operate overseas on such missions as providing logistic support. <Armitage has emphasized Japan’s importance to the United States. Starting in 2000, he coauthored six “Armitage-Nye” reports, which called for the enhancement of the Japan-U.S. alliance, with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Joseph Nye and other experts. The sixth report, released in 2024, proposed the creation of a mechanism to facilitate quick decision-making between U.S. forces and the SDF, given China’s coercive behavior and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. <Since 2005, Armitage had contributed a column to The Yomiuri Shimbun’s “Insights into the World” series, which features prominent figures from around the world, with an original English version of his column also appearing in The Japan News.