Building anime’s future – NAFCA Kick-off Event
Earlier this year, we have seen the rise of a new organization set to defend the interests of people working in the animation industry, the Nippon Anime & Film Culture Association, or NAFCA. The association has laid out a roadmap of what it wants to achieve and is...
A first look at Ghost Cat Anzu [WIP – Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2023]
If you have paid attention to animation festivals these past years, you couldn't have missed the name Miyu, who, whether it is their production or distribution company, is winning prizes at all animation and movie festivals. At this year's Annecy International...
Hayao Miyazaki’s How Do You Live?
Saying that Hayao Miyazaki’s latest (last, definitely?) film, How Do You Live? was highly anticipated would be an understatement. The complete lack of promotion and secrecy around it until the day of release, expected to last some more as I’m writing this, has only...
fullfrontal.moe is 5 years old!
July 4th is a festive day at fullfrontal.moe - but not for the reasons you might think! July 4th, 2018, is the date at which the fullfrontal.moe domain was first registered, and, as such, today marks our fifth anniversary! I had already written a piece about what led...
Making Gothicmade – Panel by Mamoru Nagano, Maria Kawamura, and Shinichirô Inoue [Niigata International Animation Film Festival]
Gothicmade Hana no Utame is a movie you will probably never be able to watch. The movie is Mamoru Nagano's directorial debut and was released in Japanese theaters in 2012. Mamoru Nagano is a well-known mecha and character designer who has worked at Studio Sunrise on...
Punk’s not dead – Conference by Atsushi Kaneko
Atsushi Kaneko is a manga author born in 1966 who started his career in the 1990s. Almost all of his works are published by the Enterbrain magazine called Comic Beam. He is often described as a punk, with the intention of destroying everything he passes. And you can...
The Life and Works of Ryôichi Ikegami: Discussion with a gekiga veteran [50th Angoulême International Comics Festival]
Ryôichi Ikegami is a manga veteran. As of 2023, the author of Crying Freeman and Sanctuary is currently 78 years old, and after a 60-year career of drawing manga, he is still in surprisingly great shape. He is now drawing the energetic and youthful manga Trillion...
Anime Numbers – 3 – Working conditions through time
Understanding of the Japanese animation industry has developed a lot in English-speaking circles. However, while in-depth records or detailed anecdotes about specific productions have become easier to find, a general overview of the industry as a whole is still...
Definitive Anime Review – Issue #2 – An Exclusive Interview for the Soul of the Anime Industry.
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Definitive Anime Review. Sorry for disappearing for a few months, I was busy at work on a story exposing Sir Issac Newton as the leader of an evil organisation. You know how these stories are right? Well a few days ago,...
Beyond the wall of Titans – Hajime Isayama Panel [50th Angoulême International Comics Festival]
Attack on Titan has been running for over ten years in Bessatsu Shonen Magazine and ended recently, but its success story still seems unreal. Hajime Isayama was a young mangaka with little to no experience who gave birth to one of the most successful stories ever...
Anime Numbers – 2 – The situation of anime studios
Understanding of the Japanese animation industry has developed a lot in English-speaking circles. However, while in-depth records or detailed anecdotes about specific productions have become easier to find, a general overview of the industry as a whole is still...
Supporting independent anime projects – a JETRO initiative
This week, five independent anime studios have launched crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter. While crowdfunding campaigns have already taken place to help finance anime productions, this campaign, in particular, is a bit special. Indeed, it is part of an initiative...