Humans come from Venus. Earth has a primary god, Alpha, married to a mother goddess, Gaia. Under their guidance, plus cycles of reincarnation and evolution and good behavior, one can achieve enlightenment. Meanwhile, five university kids are endowed with powers to fight evil space reptilians who, as it turns out, may have the capacity for […]
Archive for the ‘Anime’ Category
Interview: Animator/Director Isamu Imakake and Producer Hisaaki Takeuchi talk “The Laws of the Universe”
December 31st, 2018 
W.R. Miller 
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TMS Entertainment Partners With Future Today to Launch TMS KIDS! and TMS ANIME Streaming Platforms
December 3rd, 2018 Jerry Beck TMS Entertainment USA, Inc. today announced partnership with Future Today Inc., to bring its hugely popular animated video library to even more global viewers. Available on most major streaming platforms – including Roku, Fire TV and Apple TV – TMS ANIME and TMS KIDS! will feature TMS Entertainment’s beloved titles such as Bananya, Saint Seiya: […]
INTERVIEW: Director Mamoru Hosoda on His Latest Masterwork, “Mirai”
November 29th, 2018 W.R. Miller Four-year-old Kun has a problem—or so he thinks. Mom has brought home a baby sister, Mirai. Now his parents are giving lots of attention to her—attention he feels he deserves. Feeling rejected, Kun decides to run away. But when he goes as far as the family’s garden, he meets a visitor from the future: his […]
Netflix Unveils 2019 Anime Highlights
November 27th, 2018 Jerry Beck Netflix continues to successfully expand its original Anime programming and today, during the Anime Lineup Presentation event at Akiba Theatre in Tokyo, presented some exciting highlights for the upcoming year. Today’s announcements join Netflix’ ever-growing slate of Anime, including this year’s series DEVILMAN crybaby and B: The Beginning. Over the course of 2019, viewers everywhere […]
ANIME REVIEW: Prequels and Sequels to “Free!”
November 19th, 2018 Charles Solomon The adventures of the swimmers in the Free! (2013) series proved so popular, they spawned follow-up series and feature films High Speed! Free! Starting Days (2015) is a prequel to the original series: Four talented young athletes enter Iwatobi Middle School. Kind, soft-spoken Makoto (Johnny Yong Bosch) tries to look after everyone. Introverted Haruka (Todd […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”
November 16th, 2018 Charles Solomon Hiromu Arakawa’s “Fullmetal Alchemist” was one of the first successful adventure manga created by a woman. Ordinarily, the animated versions would be classified as shonen (boy’s) series, but the complex characters and intriguing plot attracted fans of both genders—on both sides of the Pacific. “Fullmetal” centers on the prodigies Edward and Alphonse Elric. The boys […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Mamoru Hosoda Movie Collection”
November 6th, 2018 Charles Solomon In the 12 years since the premiere of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), his first personal feature, Mamoru Hosoda has built a reputation as one of the most interesting writer-directors working in animation–as this collection affirms. His films center on bright teen-agers who feel more interesting and complex than many of their American […]
Dragonball’s “Goku” to make Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Debut
November 2nd, 2018 Charles Solomon Macy’s has announced that Goku, the hero of the hugely popular anime saga Dragon Ball, will appear as a giant character balloon in the 92nd annual Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 22nd, 2018—a first for an anime figure. Goku will be depicted in his Super Saiyan Blue form, a staggeringly powerful avatar that he […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Planetarian”
October 29th, 2018 Charles Solomon The dystopic science fiction tale Planetarian began as a kinetic or visual novel by “Key” in 2004. Twelve years later, it was adapted to five-part ONA (Original Net Animation). The story opens long after a biological/nuclear war devastated most of the Earth; the few surviving humans lead a hardscrabble existence, scavenging the ruined cities for […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Saiyuki Reload Blast”
October 15th, 2018 Charles Solomon Saiyuki is one of several anime series based loosely—very loosely in this case—on Wu Ch’êng-ên’s Ming Dynasty novel “The Journey to the West,” sometimes called “Monkey” in English. The book chronicles the misdeeds of the Monkey King, Son Goku. (Akira Toriyama’s hit series Dragon Ball is also derived from the novel.) Goku’s antics disturb even […]
ANIME REVIEW: “The Tibetan Dog”
August 26th, 2018 Charles Solomon Based on a best-selling Chinese children’s book, Tibetan Dog (2011) was produced at Japan’s Madhouse studio in a rare Chinese-Japanese deal. Since his parents separated, Tenzin (Tatsuomi Hamada) has grown up in the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province with his mother. He learned to play the flute from her and had an unremarkable urban […]
Frederator Launches First Anime Club on YouTube – “Get In The Robot”
August 9th, 2018 Jerry Beck Frederator Studios, A WOW! Unlimited Media company known for its breakout hits in the animation space including Bee and Puppycat, Bravest Warriors, and most recently Netflix’s Castlevania, has launched the first video anime club called Get In The Robot. Get In the Robot was designed to be the first stop for people who have just […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Tsuki-Ga Kire: The Complete Series”
June 12th, 2018 Charles Solomon In the first episode of the 2017 broadcast series Tsuki-ga kirei (in Japanese Tsuki-ga kirei means “As the moon, so beautiful”), Kotaro Azumi (Stephen Sanders), a 9th grader at Kawagoe City Daisan Junior High, quotes Osamu Dazai: “How excruciating, arduous and unbearable it is to live.” Kotaro adds, “He must have been talking about middle […]
ANIME TRAILER: “Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle”
May 18th, 2018 Jerry Beck Humanity’s desperate battle to reclaim the Earth from Godzilla continues. The key to defeating the King of the Monsters may be Mechagodzilla, a robotic weapon thought to have been lost nearly 20,000 years ago. Part 2 of the new anime Godzilla trilogy from Toho (and destined for Netflix here in the US). Godzilla: City on […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Lupin the 3rd, Part 5: Lupin and the Internet
April 8th, 2018 W.R. Miller It’s time to play The Lupin Game! Anyone can play. Anyone, that is, with a smart phone, a wifi connection and a face recognition app. If you spot the notorious “gentleman thief,” tag and report him. You may even get a reward. What a challenge for Lupin the 3rd. After 26 feature-length TV serials, several […]
