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https://blacknerdproblems.com/nyaight-of-the-living-cat-the-cutest-apocalypse/

If you, like me, missed the celebration of Cat Day in Japan this past Caturday Saturday, February 22–then you probably also missed the news about the newest trailer for Nyaight of the Living Cat.

I vaguely remember reading the first volume of the manga series that this anime adaptation is based off–a series created during the (real life) pandemic and thinking that an anime series would bring this unique and hilarious premise to the audiences that deserve it, in an animated form.

Stories about apocalypses–zombie apocalypses–are always in style, truly. Here in this anime adapataion of the manga based on the manga of the same name by Hawkman and Mecha-Roots, cats are the key factor in the cat-tastrophe of the end of the world!

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What Do We Know So Far?

Title: Nyaight of the Living Cat

When: July 2025 (exact date TBA)

Where: Streaming only on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia; with Sony Pictures Entertainment distributing in Asia and Japan

Synopsis: Run! The adorable cats are here. In 20XX, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world?

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–PRODUCTION STAFF

Original Work: Based on the manga Night of the Living Cat written by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots

Executive Director: Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer; Audition; 13 Assassins)

Director: Tomohiro Kamitani (MIX MEISEI STORY Season 2)

Screenplay: Shingo Irie (Orb: On the Movements of the Earth; Golden Kamuy Season 1)

Character Designer: Takao Maki (Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls)

Music: Koji Endo (13 Assassins; Audition; the live-action JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable)

Animation Studio: OLM (Pokémon; The Apothecary Diaries)

–JAPANESE VOICE CAST

Masaaki Mizunaka (Ryuen Kakeru in Classroom of the Elite) as Kunagi, a cat cafe employee with amnesia whose identity is shrouded in mystery. He loves cats and has superhuman physical abilities.

Reina Ueda (Cha Hae-in in Solo Leveling) as Kaoru, a high school student attending Sabion High School. She loves cats. She works as a shop assistant at the cat cafe “Megokoro Nekome” run by her brother.

Reiji Kawashima (Fushi in To Your Eternity) as Arata, a former track and field athlete, and ninja-obsessed university student. He loves cats. He was saved by Kunagi just before turning into a cat, and he came to adore him and call him “Aniki” (“older brother”)

Yu Serizawa (Mini Yaemori in Rent-A-Girlfriend) as Tsutsumi, she attends the same Sabioto High School as Kaoru. She loves cats, but is allergic to them, although this sometimes opens up unexpected paths for her.

Subaru Kimura (Aoi Todo in JUJUTSU KAISEN) as Len Ward, the eldest son of the Ward family. He loves cats. This legendary family is said to have defended their base from cats for three days and three nights without sleep. He is a physically strong man with a bold personality.

Yoshiki Nakajima (Yo Uei in Dr. STONE) as Masaki Ward, the second son of the Ward family. He loves cats. He is part of a legendary family that once defended their base from cats without sleep for three days and three nights. He is smart and popular.

Hiroki Yasumoto (Elfman Strauss in Fairy Tail) as Tanishi, a regular at the cat cafe where Kunagi works. He loves cats. He works with Kunagi and Kaoru in a world ruled by cats, but…

Ryota Takeuchi (Elias Ainsworth in The Ancient Magus’ Bride) as Gaku, the owner of the cat cafe “Megokoro Nekome” and Kaoru’s older brother. He loves cats. He hires Kunagi who has lost his memory.

What to Expect This Summer?

A new horror/comedy anime series about adorable threats in a post-apocalyptic world!

Look, we’re already living in actual apocalypse, here’s an actual fictional one that won’t do me any more harm and will be entertaining off jump.

A virus spreads across the world, transforming all of humankind into cats. Those few survivors who remain human take refuge as they fight back against the feline horde. Kunagi, a man with no memory of his past yet a deep knowledge of cats, struggles to hold on with only his wits (barely) and a will to survive. Yet, the virus transmits merely through cuddles, and Kunagi finds all the newfound kitties so very hard to resist!

Beloved, I’m not going to lie: Nyaight of the Living Cat sounds silly as hell. Like Silly turned up to one hundred, and everyone knows that I am a silly person. I am looking forward to some silliness, some true comedy, and this upcoming anime that just might unite all the horror and cats fans across fandoms! I LOVE that OLM, the animation studio behind bringing the anime adaptation of my favorite The Apothecary Diaries is handling this project! The End is Nyaigh!

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The post New Trailer for ‘Nyaight of the Living Cat’ Has Us Welcoming the Cutest Apocalypse This Summer appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

https://nerdist.com/article/tiana-disney-plus-series-canceled/

Walt Disney Animation Studios has officially scrapped the animated Tiana series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series was to follow Princess Tiana from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. This decision is part of a broader shift away from producing long-form content exclusively for the streaming platform. We were looking forward to a Tiana series, as she is one of our all-time favorite Disney princesses, so we’re sad to hear it’s been canceled.

Disney canceled more than just the Tiana series. The studio also shelved a feature-length animated film that would go straight to Disney+. As The Hollywood Reporter stated, Disney’s Vancouver studio expects layoffs due to the shift away from streaming-specific content. The rush for streaming exclusive content began during the pandemic. Then-CEO Bob Chapek pushed for original content from Disney’s various studios.

Disney announced the Tiana series back in December 2020. Its original concept was to be a musical, with Anika Noni Rose reprising her role as the titular character. Sources close to Disney+ revealed that despite multiple changes in the creative team, the show could not surmount the estimated production costs.

Despite the Tiana series’ cancellation, a The Princess and the Frog-inspired special is currently in development at Disney. Currently though we know few details about this project. However, the special will supposedly feature an all-new story based on the original The Princess and the Frog film, with Joyce Sherri directing and Steve Anderson writing the story.

This isn’t unexpected for Disney, as last year, the company announced that Pixar would no longer prioritize developing long-form episodic content for Disney+. We learned this news after the release of Dream Productions and Win or Lose. However, Disney Animation is reportedly still aiming for one theatrical release every year in addition to other smaller projects.

The post Disney+ Tiana Series Officially Canceled appeared first on Nerdist.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/lazarus-watanabes-new-sci-fi-anime-premieres-april-5/

From anime legend Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), the highly anticipated new series Lazarus follows secret agents hunting for a vaccine to save humanity.  The new anime will premiere Saturday, April 5 at midnight on Adult Swim during the network’s Toonami action/anime block.

Marking Watanbe’s return to the sci-fi genre, “Lazarus” is a pulse-pounding thriller about a miracle drug, Hapna, that presumably frees anyone who takes it from all pain. However, it is later revealed that Hapna has a fatal consequence: all who have taken the drug will perish. With only thirty days to save humanity, a group of agents must find a vaccine before all is lost. 

“We’re talking Watanabe here – this show is an amazing mix of great characters, super fun high-stakes, brilliant directing, and of course, some pretty great music,” said Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen. “We are all so lucky to be able to watch this genius do his thing.”

Lazarus features action sequences designed by director Chad Stahelski (John Wick) and a captivating score by renowned jazz and electronic artists including jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington (West Coast Get Down); producer, DJ, and musician Floating Points (Floating Points Ensemble); and producer, DJ, and musician Bonobo.

The series will air on Adult Swim in English, with new episodes available the next day on Max. English-language encore airings will debut every Thursday at midnight beginning April 10. Episodes in Japanese with English subtitles will debut in the U.S. on Adult Swim and Max 30 days after their English-language premiere.

Lazarus is produced by Sola Entertainment and animated by Studio MAPPA.

The year is 2052.

The world seemed to be on the verge of unprecedented peace and stability, and the painkiller drug “Hapna” developed by a lauded neuroscientist Dr. Skinner has had a lot to do with it. Pervasive throughout the world with no known side effects, Hapna is said to have freed humanity from pain.

But then, Skinner suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth.

Three years later, he re-emerges as a prophet who brings countless deaths and the end of civilization. Hapna is designed with a fatal, retroactive effect, which manifests three years after ingestion, even by those who have only taken it once. Just thirty days remain until humanity is doomed to extinction. The only way to save the world is to get the cure that only Skinner knows. For that we must first find him.

Lazarus is a team of five agents gathered from various corners of the world to do just that. Can they save humanity? And what is Skinner’s true purpose?

English Voice Cast:

• Dr. Skinner – David Matranga
• Hersch – Jade Kelly
• Axel – Jack Stansbury
• Chris – Luci Christian
• Leland – Bryson Baugus
• Doug – Jovan Jackson
• Elaina – Annie Wild
• Abel – Sean Patrick Judge

The post ‘Lazarus’: Watanabe’s New Sci-Fi Anime Premieres April 5 appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/heres-what-you-need-to-learn-about-afro-nicaraguans/

You may already know that Latin America is decorated with Afro-culture. Afro-Brazilians invented dynamic and eye-catching dance moves with the creation of Capoeira and Samba. Afro-Cubans gave the world flavorful music and dance by creating Rumba, Son, and Salsa. Let’s not forget the Afro-Colombians who rebelled to create the first free town in the Americas.

Throughout the history of Latin America, Afro-Latinos have been a crucial part of Black history. The Afro-descendants in Nicaragua are no different. Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America, is known as the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes. Within its dynamic landscape, this country nestled between Honduras and Costa Rica has a rich history involving an overlooked culture. Here are some things you should know about Afro-Nicaraguans.

Demographics of Afro-Nicaraguans

There are approximately 500,000 Afro-Nicaraguans, who make up about 9% of the total population. The majority live in the Región Autónoma del Caribe Sur (RACS) and Región Autónoma Caribe Norte, which are twice the size of Maryland. Although large and filled with white beaches, geographically these regions have been isolated compared to the Central and Pacific regions of the country.

Because these regions have been separated from the main areas, some Nicaraguans view Afro-Nicaraguans as outsiders, and unfortunately, their traditions and culture are often perceived as “un-Nicaraguan.” Despite the negative opinions, Afro-Nicaraguans are embedded within the fabric of the nation.

History of Afro-Nicaraguans

One of the key components of Afro-Nicaraguan history is their activism for social change. A crucial point for Afro-Nicaraguans came after the Sandinista victory in 1979. The Sandinista victory refers to the successful overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) on July 19, 1979.

Afro-Nicaraguan activists, intellectuals, and local leaders pushed for greater recognition of their culture and rights. June Gloria Beer, an Afro-Nicaraguan artist and activist, was known as a leader among many Afro-Nicaraguans. Her efforts were instrumental in pushing the Nicaraguan government to recognize regional languages, such as Creole and Indigenous languages, as co-official languages, helping to preserve cultural heritage. As an artist, she used her platform to raise awareness about the struggles faced by Afro-Nicaraguans, promoting social change and community empowerment. Beer’s legacy continues to inspire contemporary movements for racial and cultural equality in Nicaragua and beyond.

Even though progress was made, tensions between the Sandinista government and Afro-Indigenous groups simmered. Afro-Nicaraguans and Indigenous groups wanted their autonomy, traditions, and land rights to be respected. Yet, the ruling government forces wanted to expand into Afro-Nicaraguan areas. This ignited a resistance movement, and some groups, particularly among the Miskito people, aligned with the U.S.-backed Contra rebels, leading to violent clashes.

As a result, the Sandinistas forced thousands of Miskito people to relocate in 1981 and 1982, which led to international accusations of human rights violations. Victory was finally claimed in 1987 when the Sandinista government introduced autonomy statutes, granting the Caribbean coast greater self-governance. This was a victory for Afro-Nicaraguans, allowing them to have more control over their education, land rights, and cultural preservation.

Unfortunately economic disparities and social challenges persist in the region today. Yet Afro-Nicaraguans continue to make their impact on society.

Key Elements of Afro-Nicaraguan Culture

Many languages are exchanged within Afro-Nicaraguan culture. The the two main languages are Spanish, which is the official language of Nicaragua. There’s also Creole English, which is influenced by British English and African languages. Miskito and Garifuna are some of the Indigenous languages also spoken within the region.

Dance and Music

Like Black people around the world, music and dance are pillars of the culture. Blending African drumming, reggae, and calypso, popular dances like Palo de Mayo have emerged. This dance and music style consists of energetic movements and rhythmic footwork performed to traditional instruments such as the marimbas and drums. The dance often includes movements that mimic the gestures of planting and harvesting, reflecting the agricultural roots of the celebration. Dancers often wear vibrant costumes decorated with flowers to symbolize fertility and the beauty of nature.

Palo de Mayo is not just a performance but an inclusive event that involves the entire community, with people of all ages participating in the dances and celebrations. This fosters a sense of unity and collective identity among Afro-Nicaraguans.

Food

Coconut is a staple ingredient in Afro-Nicaraguan cuisine. Many popular dishes include a rich coconut-based seafood stew and pan de coco, a traditional coconut bread. Seafood, plantains, and cassava are often key elements in the region’s gastronomy.

Afro-Nicaraguans, like many across the African diaspora, have endured discrimination and hatred. Despite the circumstances they’ve faced, this vibrant group continues to celebrate and preserve their traditions. Through festivals, storytelling, music, and activism, they ensure that their rich cultural identity remains an integral part of Nicaragua’s diverse heritage.

The post Here’s What You Need to Learn about Afro-Nicaraguans appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.