Blog Post
Youth and Teen Magazine Update -- Mars, Manga and the World's Greatest Drummers
by MariaK
Want to jump into January 2011? Try these magazines -- with awesome new issues for the New Year!
For kids:
Ask Magazine: Giant dinosaurs, an island of tiny humans, and the reason giants don't exist.
Muse Magazine: Women Astronauts, Space-Sickness and Martians, oh my!
For teens:
Drum! Magazine: The Ultimate Readers' Choice Awards -- The World's Greatest Drummers!
Otaku USA Magazine: News, reviews and, of course manga! This month Otaku USA features sneak peeks at Lychee Light Club and Street Fighter Gaiden, with reviews of FLCL, Gravitation, Xam'd: Lost Memories.
Read 'em while they're new, people!
Blog Post
Happy Birthday Masashi Kishimoto!
by darla
Today, November 8, is the 36th birthday of Japanese Manga artist Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the hugely popular Naruto series. Naruto, for those not familiar with this collection, is the ongoing story of teen ninja Naruto Uzumaki and his adventures. For those not acquainted with the cultural phenomenon of manga, check out materials like Manga! Manga! : The World of Japanese Comics or go straight to a prime source like the magazine Shonen Jump: The World's Most Popular Manga.
Blog Post
Ponyo - "The Little Mermaid" Reincarnated
by anonymous
Ponyo, a children's animated film released in theaters in 2009, is a great, fresh take on the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Little Mermaid."
In Ponyo, "a young boy named Sosuke rescues a goldfish named Ponyo, and they embark on a fantastic journey of friendship before Ponyo's father forces her to return to the sea. Ponyo's desire to be human upsets the balance of nature and only Ponyo's mother, a beautiful sea goddess, can restore nature's balance and make Ponyo's dreams come true."
With a famous English voice cast, including stars such as Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cloris Leachman, and Lily Tomlin, Ponyo is entertaining and intriguing, though it may be a little slow or long for younger children.
There is also a bit of an environmental theme in the movie, influencing the audience to help keep the oceans clean.
Oddly enough, there are diverse other reworkings of "The Little Mermaid." These include a teen fiction novel, Midnight Pearls, in Debbie Viguié's Once Upon a Time series; an adult fantasy novel entitled The Mermaid's Madness by Jim C. Hines; and of course, the most well-known, the Disney film adaptation of the story.
Blog Post
The Queen of Manga
by pkooger
You might not recognize Rumiko Takahashi by name, but I bet you’ve seen her manga and anime characters before. Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most successful manga artists/authors in the world. She’s the creator of several worldwide favorites like InuYasha, Maison Ikkoku, and Ranma ½. Her manga is very popular and several of her series have been made into anime TV shows. AADL has lots of her manga series and a few of her anime series on DVD. Take a look!
One more thing. Fans of InuYasha will be happy to know (if you don’t already) that the final story arc is at long last being adapted for TV! AADL has DVDs of the original series and the movies. Check out the manga and follow along with the story as it unfolds each week.
Blog Post
3rd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Winners Announced!
by erin
The judging is done and the winners have been announced! Judging was conducted by Jerzy Drozd and Shannon "Roku-Chan" Townsend. With over 80 entries in four age categories the judges had a tough time this year! The top three finishers in each category received gift certificates to Wizzywig and medals. All of the artwork will be on display through August in the Downtown Youth Department and can also be found online in our image gallery!
Click Read More to see the list of the winners!
Grades K-2
1st Place = Erin Shi
Runner-Up = Abby Deng
Honorable Mention = Raymond Jiang
Grades 3-5
1st Place = Alice Wu
Runner-Up = Rosa Chen
Honorable Mention = Ann Marie Zheng
Fan Art = Angela Wang
Best Original Character = Freyja Hofler
Grades 6-8
1st Place = Wentao Xu
Runner-Up = Hope Lu
Honorable Mention = Susan Doong
Best Fan Art = Taylor Zheng
Best Original Character = Lisa Ruan
Grades 9-12
1st Place = Melissa Wang
Runner-Up = Angela Wang
Honorable Mention = Laura Luo
Best Comic = Desha Stewart
Best Fan Art = Shirley Wu
Blog Post
It's Lego and Manga Contest Time Again! Contest Guidelines Released!
by erin
If it's summer it must be time for our annual Lego and Manga Contests! Use the summer to focus your creativity and maybe you will win! In order to enter either contest participants must read and follow the rules and guidelines. Children and teens aged preschool to 12th grade are invited to enter the 4th Annual Lego Contest. This year the Lego contest award ceremony will take place at Weber's Inn (3050 Jackson Ave) on Monday, August 10 @ 8:00 PM. For complete submission guidelines and the talent release form click here. Top finishers will receive gift certificates to Toys R Us, and we'll have medals for winners of the special categories!
It's our 3rd Annual Manga Drawing Contest for grades K-12. The award ceremony will be on Monday, July 27 @ 7:00 PM in the Downtown Youth Room. For complete submission guidelines and the talent release form click here. Top finishers will receive gift certificates for Wizzywig Collectibles!
Blog Post
Witch Hunter Robin
by mellam
Witch Hunter Robin is a must see anime for fans of science fiction and fantasy. It follows the story of Robin Sena, who moves to Japan after being raised in Italy to join STN-J, a secret government group that hunts witches. Witches have powers that are inherited genetically and can lie dormant for many years before they "awaken." Members of STN-J often have their own powers and are trained to hunt witches. Robin's power of fire is particularly powerful.
The first half of the series follows Robin's integration into STN-J and various hunts, with each episode featuring a new witch. The latter half starts to delve into deeper questions of what makes a person a witch. As Robin learns more about the people she works for, she begins to question her own powers and alliances.
Witch Hunter Robin is a relatively short anime series. The art, especially the hunt scenes involving Robin's power, is visually stunning and fun to watch. The music and mood of the show is quite haunting and makes this a more serious anime. This is for older audiences and is generally recommended for people 13 years and older.
Blog Post
Bleach, Naruto, Trigun?
by Brad B.
Season 2 of Bleach comes to a close with Disc 10. However, action junkies still waiting for their Naruto or Bleach DVDs to come in might want to check out Trigun: Vash the Stampede is an unstoppable gunslinger known for leaving devastation in his wake. Two insurance company representatives are on his trail to make sure he doesn't incur any more property damage while villainous foes and 'upstanding' lawmen right and left want him dead. But who is he, and is he bad or good? An anime series that's a little older, but definitely still worth a second peek.
Blog Post
2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Winners!
by erin
Our 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest has drawn to a close! This year our hard working judges were Jerzy Drozd and Shannon Towsend. They each spent hours judging the entries and providing feedback to each and every entry - thank you! In case you don't know what manga is click here. If you missed this year and are looking to find other places to post your work Jerzy made a great resource sheet. You can check out all the entries in this year's contest in our image gallery.
Click Read More to see the list of the winners!
Grades K-2 Category:
1st Place – Angela Wang
Runner-Up – Susanna Wu
Honorable Mention – Desiree Lu
Best Fan Art – Kareem El-Tawil
Best Original Character – Oliver Mayman
Grades 3-5 Category:
1st Place – Rosa Chen
Runner-Up – Natalie Liu
Honorable Mention – Alice Wu
Best Fan Art – Eric Ren
Best Original Character – Sally Lee
Grades 6-8 Category:
1st Place – Angela Wang
Runner-Up – Angela Huang
Honorable Mention – Zbyszek Sikora
Best Original Character – Genna Liu
Best Fan Art – Rujia Zha
Best Comic Strip – Connor Quigg
Grades 9-12 Category:
1st Place – Caitlin Dooley
Runner-Up – Lena Ji
Honorable Mention – Tracey Fu
Best Original Character – Lauren Houser
Best Fan Art – Stephanie Mannheim
Blog Post
3rd Annual Lego® Contest and 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest Guidelines!
by erin
A year has passed, you've been planning and we can't wait to see what you come up with! We're happy to be hosting our 3rd annual Lego® Contest for preschoolers thru 12th grade. Prizes will be awarded in five age categories. Complete rules and guidelines can be found here. Even if you don't enter the contest we invite you to come and take a look on the evening of Wednesday, July 30 in the Downtown library multi-purpose room - it's a spectacular, but limited time only display. Last year we had over 100 entries! Doors open @ 7.
We invite fans of anime and manga, who also like to draw, or write comics, to enter our 2nd Annual Manga Drawing Contest. Entries are limited to those in grades K - 12. Prizes will be awarded in four age categories! Complete rules and guidelines can be found here. All artwork submitted will be on display in the Downtown Youth Department during the month of August.