April 24, 2009
News for New York Anime Festival 2009:
NYAF to hold Death Note Day at Kinokuniya Bookstore
Norwalk, CT, April 24, 2009: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced it is partnering with VIZ Pictures to hold a special DEATH NOTE Day at the largest Japanese bookstore in North America -- New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore. Taking place Tuesday, April 28, Kinokuniya Bookstore (located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan) will present an evening of DEATH NOTE events in celebration of the theatrical release of the third DEATH NOTE film – DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd coming to select theaters nationwide for two nights only on April 29 and 30.
DEATH NOTE Day Event Schedule
6:30 PM: DEATH NOTE Anime Screening. Get a glimpse of the series that spawned the movies with this special screening of the very first episode of the DEATH NOTE anime. Discover the world of Light, L, and Ryuk again for the first time.
7:00 PM: DEATH NOTE Giveaway. Free tickets to DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd as well as DEATH NOTE manga, DVDs, and other prizes from VIZ Pictures are all up for grabs in this special DEATH NOTE giveaway.
"DEATH NOTE is nothing short of an international phenomenon, and we're quite honored to help herald in the release of the latest film in the franchise," NYAF Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. "We hope DEATH NOTE Day whets the appetites of all of NYC's anime fans who have been eagerly anticipating the release of L, change the WorLd."
"It's fantastic that we have this great ongoing relationship with Kinokuniya and the New York Anime Festival. We are really excited about this event and hopefully all of the New York DEATH NOTE fans will be just as excited as we are," said the VIZ Pictures team.
DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd will screen for two nights -- April 29th and 30th -- in theaters across the U.S. A subtitled version will be presented on April 29th and an English-dubbed version on April 30th with L's voice played by Alessandro Juliani, reprising his role from the anime series. Tickets for this special event are available at presenting theater box offices and online. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, please visit www.FathomEvents.com.
DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd is inspired by the immensely popular DEATH NOTE features, which are based on the best-selling supernatural action manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, but this spin-off follows a new, original storyline. DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd was directed by Hideo Nakata, who also directed the U.S. #1 hit horror movie The Ring 2, which was remade from his own smash hit Japanese horror trilogy, Ringu.
DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd introduces the unwritten chapter of DEATH NOTE and reveals how the legendary detective "L" (Kenichi Matsuyama) spends the final 23 days of his life. The story begins as L takes on the "Kira" case, in which countless criminals are dying under mysterious circumstances. L successfully solves the case and stops Kira, but only after sacrificing his life, leaving himself with only 23 days left to live. For his final case, L faces down a bio-terrorist group trying to wipe out humanity with a deadly virus ten times more potent than Ebola. As L tries to formulate an antidote with a scientist, he must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to. DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd features what happened before and after the two earlier DEATH NOTE events and shows DEATH NOTE fans the more human side of L that could not be seen previously.
For more information on the DEATH NOTE live action events and other VIZ Pictures films please visit www.viz-pictures.com or www.deathnotefilms.com. For more information on the DEATH NOTE manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com. For more information on the New York Anime Festival, please visit www.nyanimefestival.com.
ABOUT KINOKUNIYA:
Japanese Arts, Cooking, Fashion and Anime. More than a bookstore, Kinokuniya is a community where New Yorkers gather to relax, sit at a café, and meet internationally acclaimed writers and artists. Kinokuniya is the New York subsidiary of Kinokuniya Company, LTD, the world's leading Japanese bookstore which operates 84 stores internationally. Founded in 1927, Kinokuniya's first store opened in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Today, Kinokuniya has developed into a large-scale bookstore chain with the goal of providing Japanese living abroad with information from home as quickly as possible and introducing Japanese tradition and culture to the local community. For more information please visit the flagship US store location at 1073 Avenues of the Americas (between 40th and 41st Streets) or on the web at kinokuniya.com.
ABOUT VIZ PICTURES, INC:
Based in San Francisco, CA, VIZ Pictures, Inc. distributes Japanese live-action films and DVDs, with particular focus on Japanese "kawaii (cute) and cool" pop culture. VIZ Pictures approaches each release from a J-pop fan's point of view to serve manga and anime generation in North America. VIZ Pictures titles include DEATH NOTE, KAMIKAZE GIRLS, LINDA LINDA LINDA, PING PONG, THE TASTE OF TEA, TRAIN MAN: DENSHA OTOKO and others. The company will continue to offer the hottest visual entertainment straight from the "Kingdom of Pop" for audiences of all ages in North America. VIZ Pictures, Inc. is an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC, the San Francisco-based leading U.S. publisher of Japanese manga (comics) and merchandise licensor of Japanese animation such as the popular NARUTO animated TV series. For more information please visit viz-pictures.com or viz.com.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:
The New York Anime Festival takes place September 25-27, 2009 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the creators of New York Comic Con. The New York Anime Festival showcases the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music, and games, and anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival features exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplay masquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia, and America, and explores the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life. Further information can be found at newyorkanimefestival.com.
ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS:
The New York Anime Festival is operated by Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer. In 2007, Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and organized by 39 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2006, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of £1,052 million on turnover of £5,398 million.
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