Authors: Keith Aiken and Bob Johnson Today is SciFi Japan`s fifth birthday, and we`d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the site over the past five years. We launched SFJ with a very specific intent in mind. As anyone who has written a book or article, published a magazine or fanzine, or run a website about Asian FX productions can likely attest, getting quality photos and accurate information on these films and shows can be extremely difficult. Due in part to the often dismissive and condescending attitude of the mainstream press in the west, coupled with those overzealous fan groups whose passion sometimes overwhelms their common sense, the studios in Japan and other countries have often been reluctant to deal with the foreign media. The team behind SciFi Japan is made up of published authors, reporters who have written for major news outlets, event organizers, professional artists, independent filmmakers, and people who have been employed by major studios and entertainment companies. And we`ve had the great fortune to work with Japanese studios on everything from DVDs, to comic books, film festivals, books, animation, publicity, premieres, and documentaries. With SciFi Japan, we hoped that our ongoing professional and personal connections with these companies would ease their concerns and convince them work with us to present Asian FX news, images, production notes, and publicity art, direct from the source to English speaking fans around the world.

Over the past five years we have been honored and pleased to share materials provided by Japanese studios and production companies such as Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, Kadokawa, Nippon Television, Shochiku, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Sushi Typhoon, CoMix Wave Films, Toei, Gold View, Warner Bros. Japan, Production IG, Pony Canyon, and Nikkatsu, as well as the Korean film companies Showbox, Younggu Art, JS Media, T3, and CJ Entertainment. In most cases, we were the only English news outlet with direct access to these materials. And we`ve also been able to cover the release of these films and shows in the west thanks to the cooperation of distributors and event organizers like New People, FUNimation, Eleven Arts, Shout! Factory, Japan Society, Cinema Epoch, Section23, VIZ Media, Subway Cinema, The Associates, Classic Media, Sony Pictures, 4Digital Entertainment, AFI, Media Blasters, Walt Disney, Golden Media Group, AFFD, Sentai Filmworks, Japan Film Society, British Film Institute, Magnolia Pictures, Japan Foundation, MVM, Warner Bros., Barbican Centre, and Madman Entertainment. Learning about new productions can be fun, but we know people are also interested in how they can see or buy them as well. With the exception of standard press releases, at SFJ we strive to present something unique with each article. If another site or a news outlet like Variety or The Hollywood Reporter runs a breaking story and there are no additional facts available, we won`t post an article simply repeating the exact same information here. The news is already available for anyone who wants to read read it, and the further a reader gets from the original report the more likely they`ll be getting speculation and misinterpretation instead of facts. Often a news report will inspire us to follow our own leads and see what else we can uncover, and in those cases we`ll run a report if and when we have something fresh to add to the story. SciFi Japan has a lot of growing and improving to do, but we`re generally pleased with how things have developed over these first five years. And for that we thank our great team of writers and contributors for all the hard work they`ve put into the site, those fellow fans who have shared their time and knowledge, and all the studios, companies and distributors who have provided news, information, photos and video. And, as always, a big "thank you" to our sponsors for both supplying info and paying the bills! Last but certainly not least, thanks to our readers. We truly enjoy sharing what we`ve discovered and learning from you as well, and we look forward to that continuing for years to come. Be sure to sign up on SciFi Japan`s Facebook page and the Monster Zero Forums to discuss articles, news, and other topics of interest. And check back with SFJ later today for a DVD giveaway contest daikaiju fans are going to love!