Masashi Ando, animator on such iconic Japanese animated films as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, now directs his first feature, The Deer King. This R-rated movie coming to theaters nationwide through Fathom Events this Wednesday and Thursday July 13th and 14th (with a regular release on Friday July 15th) is about a mysterious disease killing […]
Posts Tagged ‘Anime’

GKids to Distribute Atsuko Ishizuka’s “Goodbye, Don Glees!”


GKIDS announced today it has acquired the North American distribution rights for Goodbye, Don Glees!. Produced by the acclaimed Studio Madhouse, the film is the first original feature from writer/director Atsuko Ishizuka, who previously directed the widely lauded series A Place Further Than The Universe. Goodbye, Don Glees! follows the story of three friends over […]

Gkids To Release “The Deer King” in Theaters during July


GKIDS announced today it will bring The Deer King, the new feature from Japanese animation veterans Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji, to cinemas nationwide this July. Continuing their partnership with Fathom Events, fan preview events for The Deer King will play in cinemas nationwide on Wednesday, July 13th (Japanese language), and Thursday, July 14th (English […]

INTERVIEW: “Pompo The Cinephile” Director On Amazing Movie About Movies


Pompo The Cinephile is about young film fanatic and assistant, Gene, who gets the opportunity of a lifetime in Nyallywood when his boss, famed B-movie producer Pompo, selects him to direct a new movie she has written. Pompo’s film is a drama headlined by Martin Braddock, one of the most acclaimed male actors in the […]

INTERVIEW: “Belle” Director Mamoru Hosoda Puts New Spin On Classic


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 […]

MANGA REVIEW: “Real Volume 15”


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”


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”


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”


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”


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”


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


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


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”


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”


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.