Manga and anime are playing a prominent role in the upcoming Japan! Culture + Hyper Culture Festival at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.  The festival, which runs from February 5th to the 17th, brings together performances, exhibitions, screenings, and other events  as a 'living celebration of the artistic innovator that is Japan... the 'floating island' whose modest size belies its stunning global impact.' 

Viz Media will host a Manga Cafe and Reading Lounge where visitors will be able to read popular manga amidst an exhibit of vintage Japanese robot toys, in an area decorated with posters and signage.  Manga-ka Robin Ishii will produce a daily drawing of the festival and host a free workshop.  And over 200 Viz manga and anime titles will be available at the Kennedy Centery Bookstore.

A series of seven original films by Japan's top anime talents, the 'Genius Party,' will be shown in the U.S. for the first time on February 15th, with the world premieres of five more films, 'Genius Party Beyond,' on February 16th.  The creators were selected by Director and Genius Party Executive Producer Eiko Tanaka, who with other directors Shinichiro Watanabe, Koji Morimoto, and Mahiro Maeda will introduce the films and discuss their work. 

On February 17th, the last day of the festival, three anime features will premiere in a 'Marathon of Anime Premieres' on February 17th:  5 Centimeters Per Second, The Piano Forest, and Appleseed:  Ex Machina.