Walter Amos, Tim, Matsumoto, Gwyn Campbell, Anton Kholodov, and Patrick Macias Sword Takeda, Patrick Macias, Gwyn Campbell, Walter Amos, and I convened in Shinjuku on the evening of December 4 and blasted off to Oizumi Gakuen, the Matsumoto-themed train station near Toei Studio in the …Read more »
Sword Takeda, Tim, Yuki Hijiri, Mie Hasegawa On December 2 I teamed up for the second time with Sword Takeda and made for the little-known district of Jimbocho. Little known to American anime/manga fans, that is. I learned about it while researching my first trip …Read more »
Tim and the 50-foot Yamato: pals Anyone who has followed my exploits at starblazers.com knows that I'm on the Space Battleship Yamato news beat pretty much all the time. Occasionally that means taking one for the team and going all the way to Japan to …Read more »
If you're a fan of FLCL —Gainax's kinetic, Pillows-infused 2000 OVA that graces the cover of our latest issue—then you're no doubt an admirer of director Kazuya Tsurumaki. Despite having been involved in Gainax projects since his work as an animation director for select …Read more »
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but I’m pretty certain that this is the single most screwed up One Piece movie ever made. One Piece reigns supreme as the top-selling manga in Japan and one of the most watched anime. According to Japan’s …Read more »
There is a small, albeit significant, minority of anime fans out there for whom the feature film Redline encapsulates the spirit of what they wished most anime produced was like. I consider myself one of them, which is why it’s that much more crushing that …Read more »
Mako and Sayuki, otherwise known as the racing team Impact Blue, are just a couple of girls trying to make it in the male-dominated world of Initial D. Much like real world racing, females in Initial D are few and far between, and the …Read more »
Yoshinobu Nishizaki in his early '80s prime. Note gold rope and watch you can't afford. “Galaxies collide ! An empire crumbles! An entire planet is flooded!” Sunday, I woke up to read the news online that Space Battle Yamato producer and co-creator Yoshinobu Nishizaki—a towering …Read more »
Akihabara can be a dirty place. Whether it be posters for the latest high school mini-skirt parade or the no fewer than two multi-story “novelty item” stores that hug the town’s entrance, there certainly is a case to be made for that. Harmless wish fulfillment …Read more »
As an otaku, or just a regular anime/manga/Japan-obsessed nerd, the holidays present a seemingly golden opportunity to introduce friends and relatives to your hobby. This is your chance to reach out to people. You are (practically) an ambassador of Japanese pop culture. Don't mess up …Read more »
Between Birdy the Mighty: Decode and having designed the new Vocaloid character Gumi—aka “Megpoid” due to her voice being provided by Megumi Nakajima, best known for being Ranka Lee in Macross Frontier —Yuuki Masami has experienced a sort of popularity resurgence within the last few …Read more »
It’s a Wednesday night. A group of young women are dressed for a night on the town, when suddenly they spot a warehouse, a long line, guys in suits guarding the doors, and thumping techno music. Looks like a special club event’s snuck under the …Read more »
So it appears that—surprise, surprise—the latest series from Gainax is one of the more divisive additions to the fall anime season. That outcome was likely predicted by most the moment the first trailer aired for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt , a series as dependent …Read more »
Jonathan Clements knows his anime and manga. He’s helped in the dubbing and translation process, and has even published a few books on the matter, including Schoolgirl Milky Crisis , The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and the Anime Encyclopedia (co-written with Helen McCarthy). But then …Read more »
Junya Inoue is best known for his character designs and artwork for shooters by famed Japanese developer Cave—from DoDonPachi to Deathsmiles —as well as his manga, Otogi Matsuri . We sat down to discuss everything from the beginnings of his storied career in games to …Read more »
Tim Eldred
Joseph Luster
Daryl Surat
Alexandria Hill
Patrick Macias
Fernando Ramos
Erin Finnegan
Mike Dent
Danica Davidson
Heidi Kemps