In America, animation is rarely used for action or adventure films. Because it’s still largely regarded as children’s entertainment here, studios are usually reluctant to tell stories where the danger is real and the hero can be killed. In contrast, Masahiro Ando’s Sword of the Stranger (2007) is an action-filled samurai adventure that echoes the […]
Archive for the ‘Anime’ Category
ANIME REVIEW: “Penguin Highway”
April 8th, 2019 
Charles Solomon A gentle melancholy hangs over the anime feature Penguin Highway (2018), setting it apart from similar fantasy-adventures. Fourth-grader Aoyama (voice by Kana Kita) is almost too precocious and self-possessed. Never at a loss for a reply to a bully or an interfering adult, he says what viewers may wish they’d thought to say in school. […]
Gkids and Beijing Partner To Present “Animation Is Film Beijing” Festival April 13-20
March 30th, 2019 Jerry Beck GKIDS and Beijing Film Panorama have partnered to present ANIMATION IS FILM BEIJING, a special animation section within the upcoming Beijing Int’l Film Festival (BJIFF), which runs April 13-20, 2019. The ANIMATION IS FILM BEIJING lineup will be the largest slate of non-Chinese feature film animation ever to be presented in China and will highlight […]
ANIME REVIEW: “My Hero Academia: Two Heroes”
March 30th, 2019 Charles Solomon One of the biggest anime hits of recent years, the broadcast series My Hero Academia (2016) blends the popular genres of the superhero adventure and the high school comedy-drama. The first feature, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, earned a 100% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and a respectable $28 million in its US theatrical release […]
Anime Review: “Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us”
March 26th, 2019 Charles Solomon Although Pokémon is no longer the craze bordering on mania it was 20 years ago, the property remains extremely popular. The TV series, which runs to more than 800 episodes, enjoys a worldwide audience on TV, streaming services and discs; YouTube lists more than 100,000,000 Pokémon films. Pokémon merchandise is ubiquitous, and on a typical […]
Anime Review: “Made in Abyss: Journey’s Dawn”
March 24th, 2019 W.R. Miller What’s inside the Abyss? It’s a giant hole in the middle of an island, thousands of feet deep. It beckons explorers and fortune-seekers to build a city around it, for within its depths are valuable relics—and monsters. Those who dare to retrieve the relics are known as “cave raiders.” Some are orphaned children, exploited by […]
GKIDS Acquires North American Rights to “Children Of The Sea”
March 20th, 2019 Jerry Beck GKIDS today announced it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the animated feature Children Of The Sea. GKIDS will release the film theatrically in both Japanese and English language versions. The film is the latest feature from Japan’s STUDIO4°C (known for Tekkonkinkreet, MFKZ, Mind Game, Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight, and others), and is […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Samurai Champloo: The Complete Series”
March 4th, 2019 Charles Solomon When Cowboy Bebop concluded in 1998, viewers waited eagerly to see what Shinichiro Watanabe would do next. After directing two short films for the anthology feature The Animatrix in 2003, he released the broadcast series Samurai Champloo in 2004. It was worth the wait. Although it was a science fiction series about a “space cowboy”/bounty […]
Anime Review: “Mazinger Z: Infinity” – A Robot Reunion
February 28th, 2019 W.R. Miller With a name like Dr. Evil, you just know he’s up to no good. Especially when he allies himself with do-badders Baron Ashura and Count Brocken. But they want more than world domination. This time, they want to replace our universe with one of their own. How? By activating a massive robot just discovered at […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Anime-Gataris: The Complete Series”
February 9th, 2019 Charles Solomon In the first two minutes of Anime-Gataris (literally “Talking about Anime,” 2017), the filmmakers offer a hilarious send-up of Gundam, Sailor Moon and the component series of Robotech. If the rest of the show never quite meets that admittedly impressive bar, it’s still very silly, very meta and a great big inside joke for anime […]
Eleven Arts Picks Up “Penguin Highway” For US/Canada
February 5th, 2019 Jerry Beck Eleven Arts Anime Studio will be distributing the sci-fi coming-of-age film Penguin Highway in the US and Canada. The film, directed by Hiroyasu Ishida, won the Axis: The Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation award at Fantasia International Film Festival for the best animated feature. The film has also been nominated for the Japan […]
INTERVIEW: With Annie Winning “Mirai” writer/director Mamoru Hosoda
February 4th, 2019 Jackson Murphy Fresh off winning Best Independent Animated Feature at last Saturday’s Annie Awards, Mirai writer/director Mamoru Hosoda is heading to the Oscars. This visionary film is a well-deserved Best Animated Feature nominee. Mirai was my favorite animated film of last year – and #2 on my 10 Best Films of 2018 list. When I told this […]
INTERVIEW: Vic Mignogna on the New, Improved Broly; “Dragon Ball Super: Broly”
January 14th, 2019 W.R. Miller He has muscles upon muscles … a rage beyond reason … flaming green hair … and a desire to smash. The longer he fights, the more powerful he becomes. The Incredible Hulk? Not in the Dragon Ball universe. This is Broly, the legendary Super Saiyan from Planet Vegeta. Woe to those who get in front […]
ANIME INTERVIEW: Jason Douglas, the Voice of Beerus in “Dragon Ball Super”
January 2nd, 2019 W.R. Miller When Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama continued his franchise with the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013 Japan; 2014 U.S.), he introduced a character whose powers exceeded our Super Saiyan hero, Goku. His name: Beerus, god of destruction. Woe to those who rouse his temper. With but a wave of his claw, a […]
Posted in Anime 
Tags: Anime, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Dragonball Z 
No Comments » ANIME REVIEW: “ReLife: Final Arc”
January 1st, 2019 Charles Solomon The 13-episode broadcast series ReLife (2016) felt like it ended prematurely, with the main characters’ stories unfinished. The four-part Final Arc OAV (2018) brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. Arata Kaizaki (voice by Micah Solusod), had been a promising high school student. Warm and caring, he brought out the best in the people around […]
