Christmas in Japan is, shall we say, unique. Japanese Christmas traditions include going on a date with your sweetheart (unlike in the west, it’s generally a day for couples) and, for some reason, eating at KFC. Seriously. Another essential part of Japanese Xmas is Christmas …Read more »
Way back in April we reported the first scant bits of information on a couple of short anime films in the works. Now both films are set to be released on a double bill in a few cities throughout Japan. The first is called Hinata …Read more »
If there’s one word to describe Berserk fans, it might be “patient.” Fans of the dark fantasy series, which started life as a manga in 1990, have had some long waits on their hands. The anime series, for example, ended without a clear conclusion, and …Read more »
Did you like the new Mamoru Hosoda film Wolf Children ? We sure did . One of the most interesting things about the film was its setting. Early on in Wolf Children, the main characters move out of the city and into the countryside, which …Read more »
It’s a big week for Puella Magi Madoka Magica news here in Japan. Where to even start? Lend me your strength, Madoka! The biggest bit of news, of course, is the release of the third and final Madoka film, Rebellion , which hit Japanese theaters …Read more »
As you may or may not know (I didn’t until right about now, I must admit), Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 classic Kiki’s Delivery Service was not an original Ghibli story: it was based on a novel by author Eiko Kadono. Now another group of filmmakers has …Read more »
There’s some good news regarding director Nakamura. Apparently he was in production on a film when he died, and that film will be released as planned this November 16th. The film is called Fifteen Boys Castaway Story: Pirate Island DE! Great Adventure . It’s based …Read more »
Ghost in the Shell Arise , if you recall, is a new reboot/reimagining/don’t-call-it-a-prequel of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, showing for the first time how Major Motoko Kusanagi and her team came together. The first episode in the four-part series premiered in June, and …Read more »
Takashi Yanase, the creator of the beloved children’s manga Anpanman , has died at the age of 94. Anpanman , though not well known abroad, is a true phenomenon in Japan. The manga, about a superhero made of bread, began its run in 1973 and …Read more »
To say 2013 is a big year for Studio Ghibli is a bit of an understatement. First we saw the release of The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in four years. Then we learned it would be his last when he announced his retirement …Read more »
Aniplex USA pleasantly surprised us about this time last year when they released the first two Madoka Magica films in US theaters, taking the magical girl franchise on a Statewide screening tour very shortly after the films were released in Japan. Less surprising, but no …Read more »
The Kickstarter stories just don’t stop ‘round here. It’s about a year since we reported on the launch of Production I.G. launching their Kickstarter project to fund their short Kick-Heart . At the time, it seemed like a totally wild and crazy idea. Since then, …Read more »
Kill la Kill , the whizz-bang action series from Gainax alums Studio Trigger, premiered October 3rd. In the run-up to the show, tension was high, with fans of director Hiroyuki Imaishi wondering if he could pull off the same high-velocity, non-stop action as his previous …Read more »
Like him or not, it’s clear director Shinji Aramaki is at the forefront of Japan’s 3D, computer-generated animation movement. Beginning his directorial career with traditional, hand-drawn anime OAVs like Megazone 23 and MADOX-01 , Aramaki turned to computers to create 2004’s Appleseed . Since then, …Read more »
The Tokyo International Film Festival, or TIFF for short, is pretty much what it sounds like – a yearly festival here in Japan’s capital showcasing new films from Japan and abroad. But one type of film has been conspicuously absent from TIFF’s lineup for the …Read more »
Matt Schley
