NEW films that have only just opened in Japan are among the attractions at this year's Scotland Loves Anime film festival.

Steampunk sci-fi Empire of Corpses, partly set in Britain and following the story of a young John Watson before he meets Sherlock Holmes, is one of the big ticket sellers with its European premiere.

Also much anticipated is the award-winning Miss Hokusai, the new animated feature film from acclaimed Annecy-winning director Keiichi Hara, in Scotland Loves Anime, in Glasgow from October 5 to 11.

"She was one of the artists who fell under the name Hokusai, but she also did a lot of her own work. Even back then, in the early 19th century, a lot of artists were doing sponsored work," explains festival director Andrew Partridge. "The animation quality really shows in this film."

Andrew, who set up the festival six years ago, says he also recommends Japan Animator Expo, a project that sees top level directors giving access to the the studios of the Japanese equivalent of YouTube to make five-minute shorts.

"They produce and release them online. They are directed and built so well. We are the first theatrical venue to screen it in Europe," says Glasgow-based Andrew, 28, who studied linguistics and artificial intelligence at the University of Edinburgh before turning his focus on anime.

"This year is really stuffed with content. We have another darling of arthouse cinema – the Case of Alice & Hana, which is a UK premiere by a live action director from Asia on rotoscope.

"They film it live with actors and then convert that into animation. It looks amazing because it is directed by a live action director which gives it a lease of life you wouldn't normally get."

Other highlights this year are Dragon Ball Z – Resurrection F, which has just earned its place in the top 10 anime films of all time for box office in the US; Attack of the Titan 1 and 2 and Ghost in the Shell, filmed earlier this year.

The first Scotland Loves Anime showed five films in Glasgow and six in Edinburgh to an audience of 2000. This year about 6000 film goers will get the chance to watch 15 films at Glasgow Film Theatre, Edinburgh's Filmhouse Cinema and Aberdeen's Belmont Filmhouse, and it is renowned as the UK's top festival for Japanese animation. A touring programme is planned for early in the new year.

"This is the only opportunity people have to see these films in a cinema," says Andrew. "The number of films that get a little bit of a wider release are growing but you're still looking at 60-70% of the films we screen, this is the only chance you'll get to see it on the big screen in the UK.

"We attract all ages, from kids as young as five or six, people in their 60s. In Glasgow you tend to get a lot of that core demographic of 18-25 year olds, split equally between male and female. Overall it is broad mix, from lots of different professions, everything from retail work to doctors."

The festival was originally set up to show film fans new releases and classics in an environment that didn't feel like an anime convention or Comic Con event.

Guest speakers include Miss Hokusai director Keiichi Hara and long-time festival supporter Jonathan Clements, co-author of the Anime Encyclopaedia, who wrote his Phd on the industrial history of Japanese animation.

"Over the first two years I inadvertently gave Jonathan the challenge of telling the audience, including me, something we didn't know about the film before it comes on," says Andrew.

"There is a five-minute introduction but you leave knowing more about the film than you would otherwise. It's important to us that you leave knowing more about the film. We want you to sit down and enjoy the film but I hope what people will leave with is not some bigger arthouse appreciation, but maybe some interesting fact to use in the pub with your mates."

There will also be a judges' award category in which industry guests select the best of the festival and an education day at Edinburgh College of Art with experts discussing all aspects of anime.

Scotland Loves Anime, from October 5. Visit www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/whats_on/season:scotland_loves_anime to book or buy an all access pass for £52.