Book Con/ Book Expo 2019 Recap

By Lenni

It has been an exhausting couple of days covering Book Expo & Book Con 2019. There were so many authors, panels and things to say I couldn’t see it all. One thing I will definitely was looking forward to was the panel of George Takei. George Takei was there to talk about his IDW graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy”. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. Just hearing George Takei talk about the memoir and his experiences was very moving and inspiring. After the panel, I explore the convention.

Book Review of George Takei’s “They Called Us Enemy”

I read this book with tears in my eyes the entire time. I remember learning about these camps in school and back then I couldn’t imagine people being so backward, paranoid, and inhumane.

But that was middle school me. Thirty-eight year old me has seen the news in 2019.

This book is not easy to read because people suck but much like putting myself through Maus and Irena; it does remind me that humans can also be amazing. I had to opportunity to see Mr. Takei speak about his time in the camps and I’m glad I did. I hope people realize one day, history will look back on us just as we look back now on what we did to the Japanese back then. 5 out of 5.

Pics

Overall Book Con/Expo is a must for book lovers and professionals alike. The Javitz center is the perfect place to hold all these vendors. This time I did bring my little rolling suitcase so I admittedly nabbed more than I should have. But I am super excited to read all these books.

Funimation Acquires UK Anime Distributor Manga Entertainment Limited

By Justin D Williams

Funimation announced its acquisition of Manga Entertainment Limited (“Manga”), the leading distributor of anime in the UK and Ireland. Headquartered in London, England, Manga is a long-term partner of Funimation and currently serves anime fans  across a wide range of channels, including Blu-ray / DVDs, broadcast, theatrical and digital (EST - electronic sell-through). Following its immediate consolidation of Funimation’s UK home entertainment business, Manga will become the largest distributor of anime Blu-rays/DVDs, offering  fans more than 900 hours of subtitled and dubbed entertainment – the biggest catalog of titles available anywhere in the UK and Ireland.  With this acquisition, most of these titles – many for the first time – will become available for streaming to fans throughout the UK and Ireland on FunimationNow over the coming months. These titles will include hit series like “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,” “Naruto Shippuden,” “Ghost in the Shell: Innocence” and “Sword Art Online.”
“With this acquisition, we will create a truly immersive anime experience for fans in the UK and Ireland. This begins with providing fans access to Manga’s library of titles to enjoy whenever and wherever they want on FunimationNow,” said Mitchel Berger, vice president of sales and distribution for Funimation. “Together with the Manga team, Funimation will bring its fan-first omnichannel approach to serving anime fans – engaging with them directly through the widest array of touchpoints.”

“On behalf of Manga Entertainment, we’re thrilled to join Funimation and their expanding global business,” said Jerome Mazandarani, managing director of Manga Entertainment Limited. “We’re excited for the new opportunities that lie ahead and to serve anime fans in the UK and Ireland in a bigger way than ever before.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Funimation which today provides streaming, home entertainment, theatrical and broadcast distribution, as well as merchandise licensing in many territories around the world. With a catalog of more than 600 titles encompassing over 10,000 hours of subtitled and dubbed entertainment, Funimation directly serves consumers in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand through its subscription service FunimationNow. In November 2018, FunimationNow became the first Sony Pictures Television service to launch on Amazon’s Prime Video in the UK.

Funimation can be found on Facebook at  facebook.com/funimation. Twitter at twitter.com/funimation and Instagram at instagram.com/funimation.

Tribeca Talks: Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus

Hey O&G fans, this year at Tribeca Games we got a chance to attend the Tribeca Talks: Hideo Kojima with Norman Reedus event. One of the Best Video game designers and One of the most popular TV and Movies star sat down at the BMCC theater to talk about their game project (Death Stranding) , their work history and their growing friendship over the years.

Unfortunately there was a ban on video for the event, but we were able to record audio. So check out our audio, video and pictures of this wonderful and informative event.

by Sean Tucker