Both upbeat and offbeat, Cells at Work! (2018) is a quirky fantasy series that may initially remind some viewers of Osmosis Jones (2001). But the program is lower key and much less hip: It feels closer to the old police drama “The Naked City”: “There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has […]
Posts Tagged ‘Anime’
ANIME REVIEW: Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Part 2
August 8th, 2019 
Charles Solomon Cardcaptor Sakura (1996) probably ranks as the best and best-loved work by the four-woman artists’ collective, Clamp. A textbook magical girl adventure, the animated series debuted in 1998 and ran for 70 episodes, followed by two features and an OVA. A rather timid 4th grader who lived with her older brother Toya and their widowed […]
ANIME REVIEW: “Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day”
July 10th, 2019 W.R. Miller Imagine an animated feature with no explosions. No fart gags. No giant robots pummeling each other. No wacky talking animals. Instead, we have a movie anchored in the real world, a slice-of-life story of high school students practicing their musical instruments, all the while wrestling with issues of self esteem. The biggest threat? Losing a […]
Katsuhiro Otomo Announces New Film “Orbital Era” and New Anime Adaptation of “Akira”
July 4th, 2019 Jerry Beck Sunrise Inc. has announced plans to produce a new animated sci-fi feature film entitled Orbital Era. The film will be directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, one of the most celebrated and influential Japanese creators in the world. The joint announcement by Director Katsuhiro Otomo, Makoto Asanuma (president of Sunrise Inc.) and Yasumasa Tsuchiya (producer at Sunrise […]
Fathom Events to Release “Sound! Euphonium: The Movie” in July
May 20th, 2019 Jerry Beck Following its release in its native Japan, an all-new Sound! Euphonium story following the Kitauji High School concert band club, from the novels by Ayano Takeda, is coming to select U.S. movie theaters nationwide. From Kyoto Animation (“A Silent Voice,” “Liz and the Blue Bird,” and “Violet Evergarden”) comes the long-awaited sequel in the Sound! […]
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: “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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Interview: Animator/Director Isamu Imakake and Producer Hisaaki Takeuchi talk “The Laws of the Universe”
December 31st, 2018 W.R. Miller 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 […]
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 […]
