Oscar nominated Mirai director Mamoru Hosoda’s new animated feature is nominated for five Annie Awards. Belle is a modern-day update on one of the most beloved stories of all-time, Beauty and the Beast. This time, it’s a girl named Suzu who discovers the digital universe of U. She creates an avatar named Belle who instantly […]
Posts Tagged ‘Anime’
INTERVIEW: “Belle” Director Mamoru Hosoda Puts New Spin On Classic
January 13th, 2022 
Jackson Murphy 
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MANGA REVIEW: “Real Volume 15”
January 8th, 2022 Charles Solomon After a hiatus of more than six years, Takehiko Inoue has returned to “Real,” his compelling manga about wheelchair basketball players. (At the same time, he’s directing a new feature based on his hit “Slam Dunk.”) The artist picks up the story where he left off in 2014: His three main characters are still wrestling […]
INTERVIEW: The Stars of “Poupelle of Chimney Town”
December 22nd, 2021 W.R. Miller Usually an actor books a role after an audition. But there are times when actor is chosen because of their reputation, without an audition. Such is the case with the American cast of Poupelle of Chimney Town. The film stars Antonio Raul Corbo. Stephen Root voices Lubicci’s father, Bruno, who tries to inform people that […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Neon Genesis Evangelion”
December 21st, 2021 Charles Solomon Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995), which ranks among the most popular, influential and controversial series in anime history, is finally appearing on Blu-ray in two multi-disc sets from GKIDS and Shout Factory! featuring a new dub and script. A complex, compelling saga that juxtaposes mecha battles with apocalyptic Christian symbolism, Jewish mysticism and teenage […]
MANGA REVIEW: “My Hero Academia” and “Manga Theater”
December 7th, 2021 Charles Solomon It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and Viz has two new books that will make excellent gifts for the anime and manga fans in the family. Since Kohei Horikoshi’s manga My Hero Academia debuted in 2014, it’s sold more than 50 million books worldwide, and the anime series is one of the break-out […]
TRAILER: “Star Wars: Visions”
August 17th, 2021 Jerry Beck Today, Disney+ debuted the trailer and announced the Japanese and English dub voice casts for Star Wars: Visions, an upcoming anthology series from Lucasfilm that tells new Star Wars stories through the singular style and tradition of Japanese anime. Disney+ also released four exciting images from the trailer. The new trailer provides a glimpse of […]
Thoughts on Anime: “Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.01: Thrice Upon a Time”
August 17th, 2021 Charles Solomon After twenty-five years of fans debating, discussing, speculating and impatiently waiting, Hideaki Anno finally brings his Evangelion saga to a conclusion in the feature Evangelion: 3.0 + 1.01: Thrice Upon a Time, airing on Amazon Prime. The broadcast series Neon Genesis Evangelion debuted in October, 1995. Eerie female voices exhorted, “Zankoku na tenshi no you […]
Masaaki Yuasu’s “Inu-Oh” To Debut At Venice and Toronto
July 28th, 2021 Jerry Beck GKIDS’ latest feature from celebrated director Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, Ride Your Wave) Inu-Oh, is an Official Selection of the 2021 Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. The film will make its world debut at the Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section, followed by its North American premiere in the Toronto International […]
Heritage “The Art of Anime and Everything Cool Auction” is Friday, Saturday, Sunday
June 21st, 2021 Jerry Beck What do Ren and Stimpy, Spongebob, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Batman and Superman the animated series, Early Sesame Street, Osamu Tezuka, The Simpsons, Beatles Yellow Submarine, Akira, Charlie Brown and Peanuts, Kim Possible, Jay Ward, Hayao Miyazaki, Sonic the Hedgehog, Nightmare Before Christmas, Mr. Magoo, Brave Little Toaster and ‘The Art of Bill Plympton’ have in […]
ANIME REVIEW: “On-Gaku: Our Sound”
May 19th, 2021 Charles Solomon Kenji Iwaisawa’s offbeat On-Gaku: Our Sound (2019) has attracted a loyal following in the US; it even earned an Annie nomination for Independent feature. Although it’s based on a self-published manga by Hiroyuki Ohashi, Iwaisawa wrote the screenplay, directed the film and animated it almost single-handedly. He simply couldn’t afford professional animators; the film’s shoestring […]
ANIME REVIEWS: “One Punch Man” and “Mob Psycho 100”
May 10th, 2021 Charles Solomon Many recent anime TV programs reflect Japan’s daunting socio-economic problems in the post-Bubble economy: An aging, shrinking population; a bleak financial future that makes many young people undesirable as potential marriage partners; growing economic inequality; the persistent trauma from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident Westerners call Fukushima—and the government’s ineffectual response to it.
Gkids Partners with Fathom Events to Bring Anime Back To US Theaters This Summer
April 14th, 2021 Jerry Beck GKIDS and long-time partner Fathom Events, are continuing their collaboration this summer, bringing back a series of critically acclaimed and fan-favorite anime features. Kicking off the series is the 2020 animated tour-de-force from Studio 4°C (Tekkonkinkreet, MFKZ, Mind Game), CHILDREN OF THE SEA. Directed by Ayumu Watanabe, with a score by award-winning composer and longtime […]
INTERVIEW: Yonfan Welcomes You To Unforgettable “No. 7 Cherry Lane”
February 19th, 2021 Jackson Murphy Renowned filmmaker Yonfan’s No. 7 Cherry Lane is an epic, beautiful and emotional romantic drama. It’s also Oscar qualified for this year’s Best Animated Feature prize. In this Email Q&A, Yonfan explains how the first animated film of his career came to life. YONFAN: I am not an art dealer but I was gifted with […]
ANIME REVIEW: Satoshi Kon’s “Paranoia Agent”
December 15th, 2020 Charles Solomon This first—and long overdue—release on Blu-ray of Satoshi Kon’s one television series, Paranoia Agent (2004), reminds viewers of the exceptional talent animation lost when he died a decade ago at 46. As he did in Millennium Actress and Paprika, Kon deftly blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy: Neither the characters nor the viewer can […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Demon Slayer”
October 13th, 2020 Charles Solomon One of the big hits of 2020, the supernatural adventure Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba began as a manga by Koyohara Gotouge. It’s sold over 100 million books worldwide and been adapted to three light novels and a stage play, as well as this 2019 broadcast series. The story is set during the Taisho era […]
