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New Year's Greetings — Anime Style (Update 16)
posted on by Egan Loo
For generations, people in Japan have celebrated New Year's Day by sending specially designed cards — nengajō — to each other. As part of the tradition, postal workers store all the nengajō that are mailed in the final weeks of the old year, and then deliver every single one on New Year's Day. Many nengajō mark the Chinese Zodiac by depicting the animal of the year. (In 2008, that animal is the rat.)
Here are some holiday greetings from the folks that will be bringing you anime and manga in the new year.
Mitsuru Adachi
Illustrated by Mitsuru Adachi
Bang Zoom! Entertainment
© 2007 Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Inc.
Broccoli International USA
Detroit Metal City (Young Animal)
Illustrated by Kiminori Wakasugi(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Detroit Metal City © Kiminori Wakasugi/Hakusensha (Young Animal)
Digital Manga Publishing
Illustrated by Saiko Takaki© 2007 Hideyuki Kikuchi/Digital Manga, Inc.
Doraemon Channel
(In the linked page, select the Doraemon snow globe and drag it around vigorously to "shake" it. If you shake it hard enough, Doraemon gets dizzy. If you "push" it up and then let go…well, you'll see.)© Fujiko Production, Sho-Pro
Dragon Age Pure
Illustrated by Taishi MiyakeCourtesy of Moon Phase
Flex Comix Inc.
Illustrated by 27 of Flex Comix's artists, including Galaxy Angel's Kanan (link)(In the linked page, select any of the 27 thumbnail images to download the full-sized image of the nengajō for free until January 31.)
Courtesy of Ultimatum
Fujimi Shobo
Illustrated by 16 of Fujimi Shobo's artists, including Seito-kai no Ichizon's Sekina Aoi and Kira Inugami (link), Kamen no Maid Guy's Maruboro Akai (link), Hiiro no Luciferase's Itsuki Itō and KeG (link), Karin's Yuna Kagesaki (link), Swordworld's Group SNE (link), Highschool of the Dead's Daisuke Satō and Shōji Satō (link), Otaku no Musume-san's Sutahiro (link), and Crimson Grave's Taishi Miyake (link)(In the linked page, select any of the 16 thumbnail images to see that artist's greeting.)
Courtesy of Moon Phase
Tomo Hirokawa and Ichiro Sakaki (Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica: Cardinal Crimson)
Illustrated by Tomo HirokawaOriginal creator: Ichiro Sakaki
(The full-sized image of this nengajō is free for downloading until January 31.)
© 2007 Ichiro Sakaki © 2007 ocelot © 2007 Tomo Hirakawa/Flex Comix Inc.
Kanan (Galaxy Angel)
Illustrated by Kanan(The full-sized image of this nengajō is free for downloading until January 31.)
© Broccoli
Studio Ghibli
Courtesy of GhibliWorld.com
Ghibli Museum
Illustrated by Goro Miyazaki
Go! Comi
Illustrated by Japan Ai creator Aimee Major SteinbergerH2O ~Footprints in the Sand~
© 2008 H20 Production Committee
Kenjirō Hata
Illustrated by Kenjirō Hata(In the third picture, the caption pointing to Nagi's hair says, "There's rats inside.")
Megumi Hayashibara
(In the linked page, select the second line of green text. After a new window opens, select the righthand line of green text to see the New Year's greetings that Hayashibara's friends have sent her.)
Himitsu - Top Secret (Melody)
Illustrated by Reiko Shimizu(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Himitsu - Top Secret © Reiko Shimizu/Hakusensha (Melody)
Production I.G
Illustrated by Naoyoshi Shiotani, Fumiko Tanikawa© 2007 Production I.G/Project Tokyo Marble Chocolate
© avex entertainment Inc., Production I.G, Inc.
Joi no Tamago (Silky)
Illustrated by Kobato Uchida(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Joi no Tamago © Kobato Uchida/Hakusensha (Silky)
Kyoto Animation
Illustrated by Yukiko Horiguchi
Patrick Macias
MangaCast
Ed Chavez also posted the nengajō from the Morning manga magazine's editorial staff.
Shiba-wanko no Wa no Kokoro (Moe)
Illustrated by Yoshie Kawaura(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Shiba-wanko no Wa no Kokoro © Yoshie Kawaura/Hakusensha (Moe)
ASOS Brigade (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
(OK, so it's not a nengajō….)Illustrated by Shoko Ikeda
© 2006 Nagaru Tanigawa / Noizi Ito / member of SOS
Metrocon
"Merry Christmas from METROCON!"Illustrated by Roy Harms
Shōko Nakagawa
Organic Hobby, Inc.
Ō-sama ni Kiss! (Shōsetsu Hanamaru)
Illustrated by Sera(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Ō-sama ni Kiss! © Sera/Hakusensha (Shōsetsu Hanamaru)
Otomen (Bessatsu Hana to Yume)
Illustrated by Aya Kanno(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Otomen © Aya Kanno/Hakusensha (Bessatsu Hana to Yume)
Maaya Sakamoto
Illustrated by Maaya Sakamoto(In the linked page, select the "I.D." logo.)
Sanrio
Seventh Expansion
Takashi Shiina (Zettai Karen Children)
Illustrated by Takashi Shiina© Takashi Shiina 2007
Spice and Wolf
Illustrated by Jū Ayakura© Isuna Hasekura, MediaWorks/Spice and Wolf Production Committee
The Story of Saiunkoku Second Series
(This picture also doubles as a calendar wallpaper for the first two months of the year.)Courtesy of Saishin Anime Jōhō
© Sai Yukino, Kadokawa Shoten/NHK, Sogo Vision
True Tears
Illustrated by Kanami Sekiguchi(A full-sized downloadable image of this New Year's greeting wallpaper is available in 1024x768 and 1280x1024 sizes.)
© 2008 True Tears Production Committee
Type-Moon
Thank you to HockeyKamen for the tip!V.B. Rose (Hana to Yume)
Illustrated by Banri Hidaka(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
V.B. Rose © Banri Hidaka/Hakusensha (Hana to Yume)
Vampire Knight (LaLa)
Illustrated by Matsuri Hino(In the linked page, fill out the Japanese survey to download any of the eight Hakusensha magazines' New Year's wallpaper for free.)
Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino/Hakusensha (LaLa)
Nao Yazawa
Illustrated by Nao Yazawa (English website)Thank you to Rebecca Rudeen for the tip!
Yayoi Watanabe
Illustrated by Yayoi WatanabeMine Yoshizaki
Illustrated by Mine Yoshizaki(The model's built by Yoshizaki, too.)
There are many more anime/manga nengajō out there, so if you know of one we've missed, feel free to let us know in our forums or by email (newsroom040;animenewsnetwork.com at newsroom040;animenewsnetwork.com). Akemashite Omedetō Gozaimasu!
Illustrated by Robin Sevakis
Yuki image © 2003 Natsuki Takaya/HAKUSENSHA • TV TOKYO • NAS • Fruba Project. Licensed by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Update: Mitsuru Adachi added.
Update 2: Takashi Shiina added.
Update 3: Mine Yoshizaki added.
Update 4: Spice and Wolf added. Also, don't forget to "shake" the Doraemon snow globe.
Update 5: H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ and additional pictures from Kenjirō Hata added.
Update 6: Nao Yazawa added. Also, what would Japanese New Year's Day be without Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket?
Update 7: Bang Zoom! Entertainment added. Also, we added our own holiday greeting!
Update 8: Digital Manga Publishing added.
Update 9: Shuchung posted a link to drag11's comprehensive listing (mirror site) of New Year's greetings from Japanese computer-graphics artists. Start from the fifth red link, and work down the list.
Update 10: Shōko Nakagawa added. Also, we added more info on the Doraemon snow globe.
Update 11: In this huge update, we add Go! Comi, Dragon Age Pure, and practically the entire Fujimi Shobo stable of artists. Go! Comi's Audry Taylor points out Mick Takeuchi's 2007 greeting, as well as You Higuri's seasonal blog header and an earlier holiday image for her ongoing Crown manga. Also, we also clarified what to do with the Doraemon snow globe. (Thanks, b4k4ni04.)
Update 12: Metrocon and True Tears added. Also, we're hosting a full-sized image of Organic Hobby's greeting.
Update 13: MangaCast, Type-Moon, and two more greetings from Production I.G added. Also, Akiba Blog posts the New Year's posters and greetings from UNiSONSHIFT, Circus, minori, D.C.II S.S. ~Da Capo II Second Season~, and many of the shops and locales in Tokyo's otaku shopping district of Akihabara, while MangaCast's Ed Chavez posts the nengajō from the Morning manga magazine's editorial staff.
Update 14: Broccoli International USA and 27 Flex Comix artists added. The full-sized images of all nengajō from the Flex Comix artists are free for downloading until January 31!
Update 15: The Story of Saiunkoku Second Series added. Also Akiba Blog shows what it considers to be the worst New Year's greeting seen at Tokyo's Akihabara otaku shopping district.
Update 16: Pictures from eight Hakusensha magazines — Detroit Metal City (Young Animal), Himitsu - Top Secret (Melody), Joi no Tamago (Silky), Shiba-wanko no Wa no Kokoro (Moe), Ō-Sama ni Kiss! (ShŌsetsu Hanamaru), Otomen (Bessatsu Hana yo Yume), V.B. Rose (Hana to Yume), Vampire Knight (LaLa) — added. These pictures are downloadable as wallpaper from Hakusensensha's website, if you fill out a Japanese survey. Also, the True Tears website has posted a full-sized downloadable image of its New Year's greeting wallpaper in 1024x768 and 1280x1024 sizes.
