Anime

For the first time in Hayao Miyazaki's decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No. 1 at the North American box office. Miyazaki's latest enchantment, "The Boy and the Heron," debuted with $12.8 million, according to studio estimates.

Europe is falling short as a single strategic actor and French President Emmanuel Macron never misses the opportunity to remind us. Sometimes in a barely diplomatic way. His recent statements have provoked intense controversy and debate. It was not so much their content as the use of specific words such as "vassal" and "follower," which he used to define what he did not want Europe to be.

Getting hit by a truck doesn't sound like anyone's favorite fantasy, but it's an idea central to an escapist type of Japanese anime exploding in popularity.

Hit Japanese manga "One Piece" is coming to Netflix as a live-action series, a development that's both exciting and worrisome for fans who have seen mixed success in a growing list of Hollywood adaptations.

Shohei Sato's devotion to the pirate manga "One Piece" culminated in a wedding themed on the series, and he's not the only superfan obsessed with its intricate plots and swashbuckling characters.

Magical settings, the work of nature

Beyond the gates, a whimsical world awaits, complete with a fluffy Cat Bus, the toothy grin of Totoro and a life-sized No-Face seated on a train: welcome to Ghibli Park.

On Oct. 12, media got a sneak peek at the highly anticipated new theme park from Studio Ghibli, creator of beloved titles like "My Neighbour Totoro" and Oscar-winning "Spirited Away."

Computer-animated martial arts film "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero," the 21st in the Japanese franchise, seized control of the North American box office last weekend with an estimated take of $20.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Aug. 21.

A Japanese city is launching a crowdfunding campaign to help preserve a special spot of woodland: The forest that inspired the animator of beloved movie "My Neighbour Totoro."

The city of Tokorozawa outside Tokyo plans to buy the 3.5-hectare "Totoro Forest" for 2.6 billion yen ($19 million), with crowdfunding covering just a small portion of that, a city official told AFP.

Rena Hanif, a mother of two, has been forced to take up the bread-winner role for her family after her husband was picked up by the Syrian regime.