Pop Disaster - DIS:COVER

Recommended by a friend of a friend who knows the band, Pop Disaster are a pop-punk melodic hardcore band from Kansai (?) which originally formed in 2003. Their 5th studio album, DIS:COVER, was released this week. They have appeared on several pop-punk compilations. The band are playing various shows around Japan from March to June to support the new album. You can check out their webpage here: http://popdisaster.jp/

Giovanni's Island

You don't need to fear that the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿) will lead to a lull in the production of quality animation. Giovanni's Island (ジョバン二の島) is a new animated feature film from Production IG and directed by Mizuho Nishikubo (西久保瑞穂). Nishikubo has a long history working on story boards and direction at Production IG including Patlabor 2 and Ghost in the Shell.

The story of Giovanni's Island is set post war Japan on an island north of Hokkaido in the Sea of Okhotsk, Shikotan Island. Two young boys, Junpei and Kanta, are separated from their father after Soviet soldiers take control of the island, disrupting the local fishing industry, and imprison the boy's father who is the local commander of the Japanese Defence Force.

Giovanni's Island was in limited released in Japanese cinemas from February 22nd.
Official Website: http://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/giovanni/