When Chiyo Sakura (Juliet Simmons), the heroine of the broadcast series Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun (2014), awkwardly tries to confess her love to classmate Umetaro Nozaki (Ty Mahany), she mistakenly says “I’m your fan!”–and he responds by giving her an autograph from a special pad. Nozaki is tall, handsome and terminally clueless; he’s also the creator […]

Although he had worked as an animator and director on numerous TV series and three “Digimon” features, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was the first film to showcase Mamoru Hosoda’s talent as a director. If you were to ask her, Makoto Konno (Emily Hirst) would say she regards herself as a normal high school […]

The Japanese pop music industry is famous–or infamous–for manufacturing pop groups that become the flavor of the month, then quickly fade from view. Shonen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49 (2014) offers a mildly upbeat look at the phenomenon.

Based on the manga by Yusei Matsui, the series Assassination Classroom has a premise that’s bizarre, even by the freewheeling standards of anime. An alien destroys 70% of the moon, leaving just a permanent crescent. He threatens to do the same to the Earth unless certain conditions are met. The creature insists on being made […]

Takeshi Obata is a noted manga-ka, or manga artist, whose work includes the popular titles “Hikaru no Go,” “Death Note” and “Bakuman,” all of which have been animated. The first two have also been adapted to live action. This large-format (10.5” x 15”) anthology showcases his artwork for magazine covers, posters, calendars, etc. The illustrations […]

Here’s a teaser for Napping Princess: The Story Of the Unknown Me (Hirune Hime – Shiranai Wabash No Monogatari), the new anime film by director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex; Eden Of The East). Opening in Japan later this year via Warner Bros., the film is set in Okayama prefecture in […]