Like Ouran High School Host Club (2006), the teen romcom Kiss Him, Not Me (2016), plays off the distaff equivalent of the harem comedy. Based on the award-winning 2013 manga by Junko, the Japanese title Watashi ga Motete Dōsunda literally means “What’s the Point of Me Getting Popular?” High school junior Kae Serinuma (voice by […]
Archive for the ‘Anime’ Category
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Gkids Acquires North American Rights to Anime “Fireworks”
March 15th, 2018 
Jerry Beck US distributor GKIDS announced today that it has acquired the North American distribution rights to Fireworks, from director Nobuyuki Takeuchi and general director Akiyuki Shinbo. The deal for the film was negotiated by Eric Beckman of GKIDS and Rui Machida at Toho Co., Ltd. GKIDS will release the film theatrically in Summer 2018. Here’s the […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge”
March 15th, 2018 Charles Solomon Phantom Rouge, the second “Hunter x Hunter” movie, debuted at number one in Japan in 2013. It opened on 257 screens, earning ¥456,779,000: about US $5,143,930 then, an impressive sum for an opening weekend there. The title is pronounced “Hunter Hunter” Yoshihiro Togashi, who created the original manga in 1998, said he came up with […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Yamada-kun and the 7 Witches”
March 4th, 2018 Charles Solomon A featherweight supernatural romantic farce, Yamada-kun and the 7 Witches (2015) turns the conventions of the popular anime genre of the harem comedy topsy-turvy. The original manga by Miki Yoshikawa, which sold almost four million copies, has been made into a live action series, as well as an animated one. Students at Suzaku High dismiss […]
ANIME REVIEW: “All Out!! Part 1”
February 24th, 2018 Charles Solomon In sports anime, the shortest guy on the team is usually the most enthusiastic— aspiring volleyball star Hinata in Haikyu and champion swimmer Nagisa in Free are so excited about competing, they don’t worry about their size. Kenji Gion (voice by Stephen Sanders), the hero of the broadcast series All Out!! (2016), hates being short. […]
TRAILER: Anime “Batman Ninja”
February 13th, 2018 Jerry Beck Check out the Dark Knight, alongside many of his most famed allies and infamous foes, in an eye-popping anime you’ve never seen before. Warner Bros. Japan, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment present Batman Ninja, an all-new, feature-length animated film arrives on Digital starting April 24th, 2018, and Blu-ray Steelbook, Blu-ray Combo Pack and […]
GKIds Acquires “Satellite Girl And Milk Cow”
February 9th, 2018 Jerry Beck GKIDS, acclaimed distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, announced that it is has acquired the North American distribution rights to Satellite Girl And Milk Cow, from acclaimed Korean director Chang Hyung-yun. Sales agent INDIESTORY represents the title worldwide. Satellite Girl And Milk Cow is available for streaming now via the VRV Select channel […]
ANIME REVIEW: “The Morose Mononokean”
January 27th, 2018 Charles Solomon We don’t really have a word in English that corresponds to the Japanese yokai. They aren’t ghosts as we think of them; nor do they correspond to Western demons or ogres. Their appearance is often monstrous, but they’re not all huge or ugly. Yokai can be grotesque, hideous, funny-looking or even attractive. There doesn’t seem […]
INTERVIEW: Actress Ruby Barnhill on Voicing “Mary and The Witch’s Flower”
January 17th, 2018 Jackson Murphy This Thursday January 18th, Fathom Events is screening both the foreign and English-language versions of the new anime film, Mary and The Witch’s Flower, in select theaters nationwide – the night before its regular theatrical release. “Mary” is one of the 26 films eligible for an Oscar nomination in this year’s Best Animated Feature category. […]
ANIME REVIEW: Takahata’s “My Neighbors the Yamadas”
January 4th, 2018 Charles Solomon Although it’s technically a feature, Isao Takahata’s droll My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999), which is receiving its first release on Blu-ray, plays like a collection of comic sketches. It’s based on Hisaichi Ishii’s “Nono-chan,” a popular manga that may remind Americans of “Hi and Lois” or “Baby Blues.” Blandly middle income and middle class, Takashi […]
Gkids Acquires Three Features by Masaaki Yuasa for 2018 US Release
January 2nd, 2018 Jerry Beck GKIDS announced today that it has acquired the North American distribution rights for a slate of films from internationally acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa. The deal includes the cult classic Mind Game as well as Yuasa’s two new feature films, Lu Over The Wall and Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. GKIDS will release all three […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Ranma ½: OVA & Movies Collection”
December 7th, 2017 Charles Solomon 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, […]
TRAILER: “Batman Ninja”
December 5th, 2017 Jerry Beck 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 […]
ANIME REVIEW: “ReLIFE: Season One”
November 11th, 2017 Charles Solomon 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 […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Orange: The Complete Series”
November 5th, 2017 Charles Solomon 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 […]
