Belle: Mamoru Hosoda’s Most International Film

Belle: Mamoru Hosoda’s Most International Film

Mamoru Hosoda has truly become "the new Miyazaki." By that, I do not mean that he is or has become Hayao Miyazaki's heir or that his work follows up on that of the studio Ghibli director. Rather, I mean that Hosoda has taken Miyazaki's place in Western film discourse:...

Nightmare made film: Phil Tippet’s Mad God

Nightmare made film: Phil Tippet’s Mad God

Mad God is a nightmare-made film. Quite literally so, as director Phil Tippett, one of the most renowned animators and special effects artists in American film history, confessed that his long-awaited movie was inspired by a nightmare he repeatedly made as a child. It...

On the Topic of Older Anime

On the Topic of Older Anime

What was the first anime you liked? What was the first one you fell in love with? What was the first anime you watched and realized it was anime?   The answer to these questions is important when it comes to answering the question, 'how do we get people to watch...

Keiichi Arawi’s animated works

Keiichi Arawi’s animated works

With his unique sense of humor and round, cute character designs, Keiichi Arawi is an artist whose work always makes you feel good whenever you encounter it. Among animation fans, he’s mostly known for being the original creator of Nichijou, a hit manga that became,...

From lolicon to moe: the adventures of the bishoujo

From lolicon to moe: the adventures of the bishoujo

Japanese otaku fans are often associated with two controversial concepts: lolicon and moe. Outside of otaku circles, both terms are associated with some sort of abnormal attraction for fictional characters. To put it bluntly, they are perceived as two equivalent forms...

In Memoriam – Yasuo Otsuka (1931-2021)

In Memoriam – Yasuo Otsuka (1931-2021)

On March 15, 2021, studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki announced the death of Yasuo Otsuka at age 89. With him, it is one of the most important figures in world animation that goes away; it is no overstatement to say that Otsuka was the very embodiment of anime and...

Daicon, back in context

Daicon, back in context

The two Daicon shorts, Daicon III and Daicon IV, are still today considered to be emblematic monuments of otaku culture. A large part of this reputation comes from the fame of its creators, the ones who would go on to create studio Gainax, but also from the array of...

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Deconstruct

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Deconstruct

You’ve probably heard or read this somewhere: “Neon Genesis Evangelion is a deconstruction of the mecha genre” - or of SF, or even of shounen as a whole, if the person writing this is ambitious. This interpretation of one of the most famous mecha series ever is almost...

Animation fundamentals – A short history of Layout

Animation fundamentals – A short history of Layout

In my previous post, I mentioned that I would make a follow-up about the role of the layout in the production process of anime, so here it is. However, here, I also hope to show that the layout isn’t as simple as I explained last time: if you take a historical...