-
AnimeFirst Look At Mamoru Hosoda’s New Anime Film Belle
Announced last December, Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast) has a new animated feature coming out this year. As previously reported, the movie is called Belle and tells the story of a young woman in modern-day Japan as she enters a massive virtual world. Below is the brand new…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 18, 2021 -
AnimeAfter 17 Years, Anime Character Gintama’s Age Is Finally Revealed
It’s rather common for anime fans to know character’s ages. But for years, Gintama’s age has not been revealed. That is, until now. During a recent YouTube special for the anime movie Gintama The Final, it was asked how old the character was. (Even the staff said didn’t know!) However, Kohei Onishi, the original editor…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2021 -
AnimeJapanese Animator Gets Four Months In Prison For Driving Without A License
This week at a Tokyo District Court, animator Shiro Kudaka has been sentenced to four months in prison for driving without a license and violating Japan’s Road Traffic Act. Kudaka has provided animation—including earning key animator credits—for a number of popular TV series, including Lupin III, Naruto, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He has also worked…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2021 -
AnimeThe Original Voice of Studio Ghibli’s Porco Rosso Has Died At 86 Years Old
Shuichiro Moriyama, known for his acting and voice work, has passed away after entering a hospital in Saitama, Japan for pneumonia. He was 86. Moriyama had a long, varied career. Not only did he appear in Japanese theater, live-action TV shows, and feature films like 1996’s Shall We Dance?, he also did a range of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2021 -
AnimeDecades Later, Sailor Saturn’s Transformation Scene Appears In Anime
For well over two decades, we haven’t seen the henshin shiin (変身シーン) or “transformation scene” from Sailor Moon’s Sailor Saturn in an anime. That is, it seems, until now. The upcoming feature film Sailor Moon Eternal will apparently feature the on-screen transformation of Hotaru Tomoe into Sailor Saturn. Parts of the sequence appear in the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2021 -
AnimeJapanese Politicians Are Sorry For Ripping Off Anime Logo
Anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is box office smash in Japan. One politician was hoping some of its popularity would rub off, it seems, and borrowed the logo for a campaign poster. Demon Slayer, of course, is a massively successful anime and manga. Fukuoka politician Makoto Oniki (鬼木誠) copied the logo, substituting his name…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2021 -
AnimePromised Neverland Fans Aren’t Thrilled With Season 2
If you’ve read The Promised Neverland manga, you might have noticed something missing in the anime’s second season Warning: This article has spoilers. In anime’s second season has omitted the Goldy Pond arc, ditching all these chapters, and skipping ahead in the storyline. For many readers of the original manga, this arc is among their…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2021 -
AnimeStudio Ghibli Is Building A Real-Life Howl’s Moving Castle
The already cool-sounding Studio Ghibli theme park now sounds even better. Aichi Prefecture, where it will be located, revealed that a real-life Howl’s Moving Castle will also be built on the grounds. Sadly the castle won’t move and will be smaller than the one in the movie. However, as Tokyo Shimbun notes, it will be…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 3, 2021 -
AnimeWhy Studio Ghibli Turned To CG Animation For Its Latest Movie
It was bound to happen. And it shouldn’t be a complete surprise. The latest Studio Ghibli film, Earwig in the Witch, is a CG animated feature film. Last month, director Goro Miyazaki told Kotaku how that happened. Earwig and the Witch isn’t Studio Ghibli’s first foray into CG animation. Hayao Miyazaki, Goro’s father, released a 14-minute…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 2, 2021 -
AnimeEarwig And The Witch, Studio Ghibli’s Debut CG Feature, Is A Good First Effort
Earwig and the Witch opens with a familiar scene. An old Citroën races down the road, immediately invoking Hayao Miyazaki’s 1979 anime The Castle of Cagliostro. But here, the Citroën 2CV is yellow and in hot pursuit, with its grill turning into needle-like teeth, barreling towards a woman with curly red hair escaping on a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 1, 2021 -
AnimeFake Hollywood Movie Trailers Of Anime Adaptations
YouTuber Fake Eiga FMT has been creating phony trailers of Hollywood live-action versions of popular anime. These trailers are faux harbingers of just how Hollywood could leave its distinctive mark on beloved source material. The trailers included footage taken from real movies and shows, such as Pacific Rim or Game of Thrones, but with some…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 28, 2021 -
AnimeRussia Starts Banning Death Note And Other Anime
This Wednesday, a St. Petersburg court has banned the Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, and Inuyashiki anime after concerns that teenagers would mimic on-screen violence. During the trial, the prosecution screened episodes to underscore its argument. According to The Moscow Times, the district court stated, “Every episode contains cruelty, murder, violence.” In mid-December, five lawsuits were…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2021 -
AnimeDecades After Ban, Robot Anime Getting Live-Action Version In The Philippines
Robot anime Choudenji Machine Voltes V debuted on Japanese television in the late 1970s. Now, decades after being banned in the country, it is getting a live-action television show in the Philippines. Called Voltes V: Legacy, the series is directed by Mark A. Reyes, and if the teaser is anything to go on, it looks…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 18, 2021 -
AnimeNew Evangelion Film Delayed Once Again Due To Covid-19
In a move that should surprise no one, anime studio Khara has delayed the upcoming Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. Again. Fans have been waiting for the new Evangelion for years. In 2016, creator Hideaki Anno apologized for the hold-up after working on Shin Godzilla. Then, the movie was penciled in for June 2020…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2021 -
AnimeAnimator Inspired By Daigo Vs. Justin Wong Street Fighter Match
One of the most famous moments in esports history is the Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike semifinal match from 2004. With only a pixel of health left, Daigo Umehara parried a slew of attacks from Justin Wong before mounting an incredible comeback. The fight will never cease to be remarkable. Professional animator Alain Vu, who…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2021 -
AnimeEvangelion Is Teaming Up With Anna Sui For Fashion Items In Japan
Over the years, Evangelion has done all sorts of collaborations, but its latest with fashion designer Anna Sui is one of the more interesting. The brand is releasing a handful of items for Japan, including t-shirts, bags, wallets, hand towels, and more—12 items in all. Anna Sui’s style really suits the look of Evangelion, don’t you think?…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 13, 2021 -
AnimeFans Surprised By New CG Anime Show’s Quality
Cyberpunk manga Ex-Arm is getting a TV anime adaptation this month. The show, which is a CG anime, was originally slated for release last summer but got pushed back due to the pandemic. When the Ex-Arm trailer first debuted, fans were not complimentary. “The anime is about bad CGI vs bad CGI,” wrote one YouTube…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 12, 2021 -
AnimeNew Slam Dunk Anime Movie Announced
The iconic basketball manga Slam Dunk is getting a new feature animated film. Creator Takehiko Inoue made the movie announcement via Twitter. As Famitsu points out, Toei Animation’s press release clarified that this is a new animated movie, and thus not a live-action one. The manga first debuted in 1990 and spawned a popular Toei-produced anime…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 7, 2021 -
AnimeWatch The First Episode Of Mamoru Oshii’s New Anime Right Here
Mamoru Oshii is famous for influential anime feature films like Patlabor 2: The Movie and Ghost in the Shell. Prior to that, he made a name for himself directing the Urusei Yatsura TV series in the early 1980s. He’s now returned to TV anime with Vlad Love Created by Oshii and co-directed with long-time collaborator…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 18, 2020 -
AnimeNew Mamoru Hosoda Anime Film Coming In 2021
Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast) has announced his newest film. Called Belle, the movie tells the story of a young woman in modern-day Japan as she enters a massive virtual world. The movie’s official site posted the following: [Hosoda] has taken on the challenge of depicting the ever-evolving…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2020