2017 was a very special year in the history of Japanese animation: 1917 saw the release of an animated short called The Dull Sword, meaning anime is officially a century old. The year saw several events marking the occasion, including the opening of a free …Read more »
As you may have heard, 2017 is kind of a big deal for the history of anime. The first piece of animation made in Japan was produced in 1917, making this whole Japanese animation thing a century old. What better time, thought the folks behind …Read more »
Most of us think of Astro Boy as the “first anime,” and while that 1960s series set many of the anime conventions that hold true today, the history of Japanese animation is much older. About a hundred years old, in fact, and to celebrate the …Read more »
If we had to estimate how many pilots had stepped into robotic vehicles in the long history of Japanese animation, we’d have to say: a lot, man. But just who is the strongest mecha pilot in anime history? That was the question put to readers …Read more »
Shinji Aramaki. Even if you don’t know his name, you probably know his work: he’s spent decades in the anime industry, starting out as a mecha designer on shows like Mospeada and Megazone 23 before reinventing himself as a director of CG films like Appleseed …Read more »
The typical narrative of Japanese animation history usually starts with Tetsuwan Atom , aka Astro Boy , often cited as the “first anime.” That’s not exactly wrong – Tetsuwan Atom creator Osamu Tezuka’s style, production methods, and merchandizing basically set the course for the industry …Read more »
Ever found yourself asking questions like: what came before Sailor Moon ? Why don’t we have a magical girl tradition in America? And just what’s with those transformation sequences, anyway? Here to answer all those questions and more is a new article by media scholar …Read more »
For most fans with a casual knowledge of anime history (myself included), there’s a pretty massive gap in the chronology between the black-and-white debut of Tetsuwan Atom ( Astro Boy ) in 1963 and, say, the superhero team shows of the early 70s like Gatchaman …Read more »
It’s been a big week for Godzilla in his hometown of Tokyo. We reported the other day in a giant Godzilla statue that’s been set up in a park in Tokyo, and the new Godzilla film is finally opening in Japan this Friday. Well, thanks …Read more »
There's a scene in the none-more-otaku gag anime Lucky Star where the anime-obsessed American exchange student Patricia Martin is being asked about her taste in music. She stuns her friends by rattling off a surprisingly diverse list of Japanese pop artists, before it's revealed that …Read more »
Hetalia has been on the rise in popularity this year among American fan girls. You could tell by the girls dressed like boys dressed like WWII soldiers carrying around enormous flags at every convention this year. Either that, or the same group of six girls …Read more »
Matt Schley
Ian Martin
Erin Finnegan