Based on a manga by Asa Higuchi, the 2007 broadcast series Big Windup! turns the clichés of the anime sports genre upside down. The main character is neither an ace who needs to be taught the importance of teamwork, like Ryoma in Prince of Tennis, nor a newbie who discovers his exceptional talent as he […]

The animated film Miss Hokusai has been one of a handful of features that has been garnering awards attention, and justly so. Gorgeously filmed, sophisticated, and meaningful, it’s a movie that should been seen and considered both the critics awards and arthouse audiences. We spoke to director Keiichi Hara about bringing famed and important feminist […]

Although it didn’t draw much of an audience when it aired on Fox Kids in 2001, The Vision of Escaflowne (Eska-FLOW-nay, 1996) retains a loyal following, probably because this sprawling fantasy infuses sword-and-sorcery and mecha elements into the popular “magical girl” genre. Hitomi Kanzaki (Caitlin Glass) is a sensitive teen-ager who reads Tarot cards for […]

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Funimation: $64.98, 5 discs, (4 Blu-ray and one DVD) Despite the series title, Haruhi Suzumiya (Wendee Lee) is hardly melancholy. She’s one of the prettiest girls in her high school, but also the strangest and the loudest. Haruhi dismisses normal people as “boring” (“What kind of fun does a ‘normal’ […]

GKIDS has released its US trailer for Miss Hokusai, the latest feature from Japanese animation powerhouse Production I. G. (Ghost In The Shell, A Letter To Momo). The NY-based distributor will release the film on October 14th in New York and Los Angeles prior to a North American expansion. The film by renowned director Keiichi […]

GKIDS has announced it has acquired distribution rights to Miss Hokusai, the latest feature from Japanese animation powerhouse Production I. G. (Ghost In The Shell, A Letter To Momo). The film by renowned director Keiichi Hara (Colorful) took home the Jury Prize at the Annecy Film Festival, swept the top jury and audience awards at […]