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...
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...