An exhibit for *Underwater Knee-High Girls*, a photo series featuring girls wearing knee-high socks, is finally being held at Taiwanese gallery Little MOCA with the title “Koga Manabu Underwater Knee-High Girls Photography Exhibit.”
Things are finally picking up for latest *Hetalia* anime series, *Hetalia: The World Twinkle*. The official website for the series features mini characters, CD theme singles for sale and information on upcoming events.
*Your Lie in April* is a classical music anime broadcasting since October 2014 that is gaining popularity as a stand-out work. On Jan. 27, the spin-off concert “Your Lie in April Classical Concert” was held in the concert hall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space.
The popular cuisine-themed manga *Kodoku no Gourmet* (The Lonely Gourmet), a popular manga written by Masayuki Kusumi and drawn by Jiro Taniguchi, is collaborating with NEXCO East Japan, the company that operates expressways and highways in the Eastern region of Japan.
The performances of *Live Spectacular Naruto* will kick off in Tokyo on March 21. At this time, visuals of characters Kabuto Yakushi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru have been revealed.
Jan. 23 marked the grand opening of Universal Cool Japan, an event at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka that features attractions for *Evangelion*, *Attack on Titan*, and more.
New cast character visuals have been revealed for the stage play *Yowamushi Pedal Inter-High Chapter: The Winner* to be performed in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka beginning in March.
The 66th Sapporo Snow Festival will begin in Sapporo, Hokkaido on Feb. 5. It will last seven days, until Feb. 11. *Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion* is collaborating with this traditional event. It has been confirmed that an ice sculpture of the character Kyubey will be created at the event.
*Psycho-Pass: The Movie* was just released on Jan. 9, and it’s off to a good start. It’s now releasing collaboration ramen with *Takumen.com*, a popular ramen site.
In 2014, “Attack on Titan x Real Escape Game Collaboration – Escape from the Walled City” was held in large venues nationwide in Japan, and since the game has achieved huge popularity, it will now head to the United States.
The nominees of the 38th Japan Academy Prize, an award ceremony for honoring the excellent films of 2014 and the staff who made them, were announced on Jan. 14. This year, five works were nominated for Animation of the Year.
The seventh and most recent chapter in *The Next Generation - Patlabor* series of live-action shorts, started showing in theaters on Jan. 10. Meanwhile, anticipation builds for the nationwide release on May 1 of the full-length feature film, *The Next Generation - Patlabor: Shuto Kessen* (Final Battle in the Capital).
In the road race anime *Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road* the interhigh is half over and the fight is getting more and more intense in the mountains of Hakone. Various collaborations are currently underway and tons of items are being released, among them the long-awaited “Keychain Plushies”!
The movie *Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova DC* will release on Jan. 31 at Shinjuku Wald 9 and other theaters across Japan. Along with this release, various events are set to begin in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Japan Expo in Thailand 2015 is coming to Bangkok, Thailand from Feb. 6-8 with Jeducation, a company that supports students in Thailand in studying abroad in Japan, as the main sponsor.