Artist Robert Burden set a time lapse camera on his canvas as he painted his tribute to Voltron:

We may have a Felix Chevrolet dealer in Southern California, but Ben at the Japanese Nostalgic Car blog reports on a new chain of Speed Racer themed gas stations in Japan. Here’s the Official Web Site.

(Thanks, Doran Gaston)

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature, Ponyo On The Cliff, opened yesterday in Japan. It’s one of his gentler films, more along the lines of My Neighbor Totoro - and I’m looking forward to it. Not wild about the theme song on the trailer, but the visuals look terrific.

(via Frames Per Second)

While browsing iTunes yesterday, I noticed that they’ve licensed many of the independent shorts produced by Japanese cartooning legend and Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka. These include some difficult-to-find efforts such as Tales of the Street Corner (1962) and Pictures At an Exhibition (1966, image above), both of which are more notable for their rarity than their quality as shorts, though they do each offer some cool design work. The films can be purchased on the Tezuka Productions page (link goes to iTunes) while more info about the shorts can be found on this website.

Anime website Digital Manga once again sponsors Pop Japan Travel’s Mind Over Manga Tour from Aug. 21st through August 27th. This year the tour will include a meeting with anime art director Nizo Yamamoto and a visit to Nippon Animation, the studio that helped give Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata their start. Yamamoto will also introduce the group to the art staff he directed on this year’s acclaimed anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

Yamamoto has served as art director on many acclaimed anime, including Princess Mononoke (above) and Grave of the Fireflies. His background art has also appeared in Spirited Away, Perfect Blue, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and more.

Mind Over Manga also includes a backstage visit to the Comitia indie manga event, plus Hayao Miyazaki’s Ghibli Museum, and a tour of Tokyo, plus a few excursions outside the city. Optional tours of Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka are also available.

The Mind Over Manga tour, including round-trip airfare from LAX to Tokyo, full hotel accommodations, transport in Japan, entry fees, bilingual guides and customized guidebook, is $2,198 plus a $235 fuel surcharge. The Kyoto and Osaka option is $898, while Hiroshima is $100. Considering the price of gas these days, this seems like a bargain. More information on the Pop Japan Travel website.

Big news for New York anime fans: acclaimed Japanese animation director Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue, etc.) is coming to New York City this week to personally host a retrospective of his films for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Kon will be participating in an onstage interview opening night, Friday June 27th, to kick off the series, and will be introducing all the films for the duration of the screenings (June 27-July 1).

This is an incredible opportunity to meet one of the modern masters of anime. For more information on this series, Satoshi Kon: Beyond Imagination, and to purchase tickets go to the Walter Reade Theatre website.

Harvey Deneroff has announced on his blog the forthcoming publication of his new book with Fred Ladd, Astro Boy and Anime Come to the Americas. The book details the story of Ladd’s involvement with bringing Astro Boy (and by extension, Japanese anime itself) to America in the early 1960s. Ladd was significantly involved with Tezuka’s pioneering series and subsequently responsible for bringing Gigantor, Kimba The White Lion and Sailor Moon to U.S. audiences.

The book will go on sale in November, from McFarland.

Madhouse’s 2006 film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, is going to get a limited U.S. theatrical release next month through Bandai Entertainment. It’ll be screening June 13 through June 19 at the ImaginAsian Center in Los Angeles (251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, California 90012), at the ImaginAsian Theater in New York (239 East 59th Street, New York, NY, 10022), as well as from August 29 through September 4 at the Landmark Varsity Theatre in Seattle (4329 University Way N.E. Seattle, WA 98105). In Los Angeles and Seattle, the English-subtitled version will be screened, and in New York, the English-dubbed version. Show times will be posted on the theater websites closer to the actual screening dates.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The film was recognized with the Special Distinction honor at the 2007 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. It also won numerous honors at festivals in Japan, including the Animation of the Year Japan Academy Prize (akin to the American Academy Awards). I’ve seen it and it’s a wonderful film—well worth seeing on the big screen.

(Thanks, Nicholas Zabaly)