another anime movie review

By Andrew Osmond. When this blog last presented a rundown of anime streaming titles this time last year, Crunchyroll had been recently acquired by the Funimation Group. Well, what a difference a year makes. Crunchyroll’s the name now, baby. In March, it was announced that Funimation’s animation library would be transferring to Crunchyroll en masse, […] http://dlvr.it/SgCCvm

Yuji Nunokawa, who died on Christmas Day, was not a well-known name among Anglophone anime fans, but he was  a powerful figure in the Japanese cartoon business, instrumental in many of its international successes. Born in Sakata City, Yamagata, into a family of tailors, his initial career direction was in graphic design – even later […] http://dlvr.it/Sg2804

By Andrew Osmond. Last year saw Ghibliotheque: The Unofficial Guide to the Movies of Studio Ghibli, a book by the hosts of the popular Ghibliotheque podcast, which I reviewed here. Now, authors Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham have ventured beyond Ghibli with The Ghibliotheque Anime Movie Guide. Their podcast went past Ghibli long ago, with […] http://dlvr.it/SfxHvP

By Andrew Osmond. Readers of this blog will know The Girl Who Leapt Through Time as the seminal breakthrough film by Mamoru Hosoda, the future director of Belle and Mirai. But if you search on on Amazon, you’ll notice there are other versions of the story, including a recently-added live-action film by director Nobuhiko Obayashi. […] http://dlvr.it/SfptSM

by Jeremy Clarke. Voted third in Kinema Junpo magazine’s 1999 list of the greatest Japanese film of all time, Tomu Uchida’s A Fugitive From The Past (1965) is the pinnacle of a directorial career that also includes Bloody Spear At Mount Fuji (1955) and The Mad Fox (1962). In the poll, it was beaten by […] http://dlvr.it/SfdvWX

By Andrew Osmond. In the last twelve months, we’ve had the first ever English-language releases of two vintage Miyazaki works, both forty years old or more. The first is his 1978 TV series Future Boy Conan, which I wrote up here. The second is his 1982 manga (kind of), Shuna’s Journey, which is now available in a splendid new translation from […] http://dlvr.it/SfRlKp

By Shelley Pallis. Back in town for the summer vacation, would-be medical student Toto is reunited with his former middle-school bestie, Roma. In the intervening months, their roles have been reversed – Roma was once the sophisticated city-slicker transplanted to Hicksville, but now he’s just a farmer’s boy who has to muck out the cows, […] http://dlvr.it/SfGyh7

By Andrew Osmond. Speaking at 2014’s Tokyo Film Festival, Hideaki Anno mentioned that he once watched a rerun of his series Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, and was pleased how well it held up. “I was really impressed… The young me was really enjoyable!” He was right. Nadia is more than enjoyable. At best, it’s superb, an […] http://dlvr.it/SfCP9T

By Andrew Osmond. Masashi Ando is co-director of The Deer King; he’s also the film’s Chief Animation Director, Character Designer and Storyboarder. Before Deer King, Ando had an astonishing career, unparalleled in the anime industry. He was Animation Director and Character Designer on Makoto Shinkai’s blockbuster Your Name, and before that on Hayao Miyazaki’s blockbuster […] http://dlvr.it/Sf7KTg

Curious about our release of Cyber City Oedo 808, on sale now as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas offers? Check out Andy Hanley’s documentary on the origins of this 1990s cyberpunk fan favourite. http://dlvr.it/Sf50tC

We know that so many of you have already experienced the phenomenal One Piece Film: Red on the big screen. However, if you still haven’t caught the movie – or you have seen it but are dying to watch it again – then you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to hit up the cinema […] http://dlvr.it/Sf2T75

By Jonathan Clements. Grey October Sound, “one of Japan’s most talented hip-hop producers”, takes a bunch of iconic Joe Hisaishi tracks and noodles around with them, often working with instrumental cover versions by a bunch of artists including TO4NORI, CHARIOT SOUND, COCO and Judo125 to create the album Lo-Fi Ghibli. One wonders about the meeting […] http://dlvr.it/Sdxmxh

By Andrew Osmond. Like many fantasy protagonists, the young heroine of Ascendance of a Bookworm is on a desperate mission. But it doesn’t involve melting a ring, slaying a dragon, or facing an invading army. No, her mission is suggested by the title; it’s to read a book in a world where books are as […] http://dlvr.it/SdvMkP

By Helen McCarthy. From the first episodes of the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime series, director Kunihiko Ikuhara delivers a format packed with new ideas and a number of classic riffs. As a girl, we are told, Utena lost her parents, but remembers being comforted by a gallant prince on a white horse. The impressionable child […] http://dlvr.it/Sdqvxr

By Andrew Osmond. Liz and the Blue Bird was released in Japan in April 2018, less than two years after A Silent Voice. It was an ideal film for uniting two sets of viewers; those who’d become aware of Naoko Yamada through A Silent Voice, and those who loved the series she’d been involved with […] http://dlvr.it/Sdm9S4