Rumiko Takahashi’s gender-bending martial arts comedy Ranma ½ debuted as a manga in “Shonen Sunday Comics” in 1988 and in animation soon after. Three decades later, it remains hugely popular in both Japan and the United States. Although Takahashi has said she wasn’t commenting on gender roles in Japan, its absurd premise suggests otherwise. Wiry, […]

You can’t really tell how good a movie is by the trailer – but this teaser for Batman Ninja looks amazing. Warner Bros. Japan is releasing, Jumpei Mizusaki (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s) is directing from a script by Kazuki Nakashima (Kamen Rider Fourze). Character designer Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai) and animator Kamaikaze Douga take Batman (and […]

At 27, Arata Kaizaki (voice by Micah Solusod), the central character of the school comedy ReLIFE (2016), is a NEET: An acronym that stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training. The term is generally applied to young men who are seen as not contributing to the Japanese economy—or much of anything else. Although he […]

Based on the shojo (girl’s) manga by Ichigo Takano, the broadcast series Orange (2016) mixes questions about the possibility of time travel changing the past with high school heartache and angst. Naho Takamiya (Jill Harris) is a somewhat timid but otherwise normal 16-year-old student at Azalea Hill Public High School in the mountainous region of […]

With more than 220 million books of the manga in print—about half the total of the “Harry Potter” series, sales of tens of millions of DVD and Blu-ray discs, as well as countless consumer products, Naruto has become a global phenomenon. In Japanese folklore, some evil spirits grow multiple tails as they age and their […]

A new trailer for the upcoming anime feature Godzilla: Monster Planet has been released – and it looks pretty spectacular. The film, a combination of hand drawn and CG, was directed by Kōbun Shizuno (Detective Conan) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin) and animated at Polygon Pictures (Transformers Prime). It is considered the 32nd film in the […]