A limited-time event for the TV anime "Blue Lock", titled "TV Anime 'Blue Lock' Finding Stars," has been announced. It will be held at select GiGO group stores starting October 26. "Blue Lock" is a soccer manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine. It follows a group of high school forwards gathered at Blue Lock (a metaphorical blue prison), as they compete to become the world's best striker. The TV anime began airing in October 2022. The "Blue Lock - EPISODE NAGI" film was released in April 2024, and the second season of the TV anime, "Blue Lock VS. U-20 JAPAN," has been airing since October. Merchandise featuring original illustrations will be sold at the "TV Anime 'Blue Lock' Finding Stars" event. A variety of items are available, including Acrylic Stands for 1,760 JPY each, Trading Holographic Badges for 550 JPY each, Keyring with Charm: Together with Stars for 990 JPY each, a Photo Frame & Bromide Set for 4,400 JPY, and a Trading Metal Postcard set for 550 JPY. There are also purchase benefits available. For every JPY 3,300 (tax included) spent on eligible merchandise in a single transaction, customers will receive one randomly selected Photo-style Card (7 types in total). Stand displays are also planned for the stores, adding to the excitement of the second season of the TV anime. For food, Blue Lock-yaki (cake with red bean paste like a taiyaki) and drinks with novelties will be available. For each order of one Blue Lock-yaki or one drink, customers will receive one randomly selected Original Coaster (10 types in total). The "TV Anime 'Blue Lock' Finding Stars" event will be held from October 26 to November 9 at GiGO Collaboration Cafe Stand Sapporo Norbesa, GiGO Headquarters, GiGO Market Square Sasashima, GiGO Osaka Dotonbori Main Store, and GiGO Fukuoka Tenjin. "TV Anime 'Blue Lock' Finding Stars" Event Period: October 26, 2024 (Sat) - November 9, 2024 (Sat) Participating Stores: GiGO Collaboration Cafe Stand Sapporo Norbesa / GiGO Headquarters / GiGO Market Square Sasashima / GiGO Osaka Dotonbori Main Store / GiGO Fukuoka Tenjin Blue Lock-yaki & Drinks with Novelties Event Period: October 26, 2024 (Sat) - December 1, 2024 (Sun) Participating Stores: - Blue Lock-yaki GiGO Cocono Sukino / GiGO Taiyaki Headquarters / GiGO Osaka Dotonbori Main Store / GiGO Taiyaki Yodobashi Hakata - Drinks with Novelties GiGO Collaboration Cafe Stand Sapporo Norbesa / GiGO BOWL Seiyu Teine / GiGO BOWL Dream Town Shirakaba / GiGO Sendai / GiGO Ikebukuro Building 1 / GiGO Collaboration Cafe Ikebukuro / GiGO Ikebukuro Building 3 GiGO Headquarters / GiGO Akihabara Building 2 / GiGO Market Square Sasashima / GiGO Kawaramachi OPA B1F / GiGO Namba Avion / GiGO Hiroshima Hon-dori / GiGO AEON Mall Okayama / GiGO Yodobashi Hakata / GiGO Fukuoka Tenjin / GiGO Amu Plaza Kumamoto (C)Kaneshiro Muneyuki, Nomura Yusuke, Kodansha / "Blue Lock" Production Committee

The Chinese cosplayer natsume-san is one of the top cosplayers who has reached 220,000 followers on Twitter by showing many sexy costumes. She actively participates in events in Japan such as Comic Market, and has always attracted a lot of attention. However, due to the current situation, she lost touch with her Japanese fans, which is regrettable. This time we had a direct interview with Natsume. She also shows us some of her latest unpublished shots for her Japanese fans. --Were you planning to come to Japan in May? natsume: That's right, I was supposed to be there in May for the Comic Market to show my new costume, but unfortunately the event was canceled... --What kind of cosplay works are popular in the Chinese cosplay world at the moment? natsume: "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba". I've heard it's incredibly popular in Japan, but it's also very popular in China and in other countries! There's a lot of cosplay as well. --What are some of the Japanese works that you're into? natsume: There are a lot of them, but "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" "Persona 5", and "Final Fantasy VII" are always my favorite! --In terms of cosplay, what kind of characters have you recently made? natsume: Recently, I've been working on Pecorine from "Princess Connect! Re:Dive", Enoshima Junko from "Danganronpa", Android 18 from "Dragon Ball", and Akatsuki from "Lost Decade". Most of them are already on Twitter! --This time you have published a shot of Akatsuki, can you please tell us how was working on it? natsume: Akatsuki was a very difficult costume to put on because it had a lot of detailed decorations. It took me about an hour and a half to finally get it on with the help of my friends. But the shoot went really well, it only took 30 minutes and it was fun! --What do you like about cosplay? natsume: Like for all the works I've just mentioned, when I come across works and characters that I like, I want to cosplay them. And there are also a lot of works that have become my all-time favorites because of cosplaying (laugh). --Finally, please tell us your future goals! natsume: I want to work hard to make money for doing cosplay. When the current situation will be over, I definitely want to go to Japan with a lot of my cosplay works, so I'll do my best. I look forward to seeing you at the Comic Market this winter!

Crunchyroll has announced the global release of the movie "Jujutsu Kaisen 0". "Jujutsu Kaisen" is based on a manga of the same name by Akutami Gege, serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. It was serialized in March 2018 and depicts the curse born from human's negative emotions and the struggle of the sorceress who exercises it with curse. The first cour of the TV anime "Jujutsu Kaisen" was nominated in 10 categories at the "Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2021" and won three awards including "Anime of the Year". The second cour was nominated for 16 categories at the "Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2022" and won 6 categories including "Best Action". This time, Crunchyroll announced the global release of the movie "Jujutsu Kaisen 0", the first film adaptation of the prequel to "Jujutsu Kaisen", "Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School" (commonly known as "Volume 0"). The film will be released in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg on March 16, in the US, Canada, and the UK on March 18, and in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on March 29. It will also be released in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Africa (French-speaking countries), and Latin America. In addition, Crunchyroll has begun worldwide streaming (excluding Japan and China) of "Shenmue the Animation," an original animation with Adult Swim. (C) 2021 "Jujutsu Kaisen 0 the Movie" Production Committee (C) Akutami Shita / Shueisha [Article taken from Anime! Anime! Biz / animeanime.biz]