It is ranked number 4 on the list of highest-grossing films in Japan and the single highest grossing Anime film of all time. It has garnered worldwide acclaim and has taken the Anime community and the mainstream audience by storm. For a long, while it even beat out Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood on the MyAnimeList charts and even now sits at a comfortable #2. Yes, I am of course talking about Makoto Shinkai’s breakout success, “Kimi No Na Wa”, or “Your Name”.
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Author: thesakurasunrise
Megalo Box is a Love Letter to Anime’s Past
Remember two years ago when Studio Wit released Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress? To this day, that show’s greatest strength was its artwork and how it called back to the anime of the 80’s in both character design, shading and even how the characters evolved. It was a beauty to behold and I’m happy to hear that the series is going to continue despite the first season’s lackluster narrative.
The few anime from the 80’s I have seen I have LOVED. Gunbuster is easily one of my favorite OVAs ever made and even the 80’s anime I have not seen speak volumes through the artwork I’ve stumbled upon. For this reason, I am delighted that TMS Entertainment has decided to further pay homage to the animation of yesteryear with Megalo Box. Continue reading
Mid-Season Checkup – DARLING in the FRANXX
The spring Anime season is upon us and everyone is either watching Violet Evergarden now that it is on Netflix or the new season of My Hero Academia. Meanwhile, I’m over here still watching Darling in the Franxx, the collaboration between Trigger and A-1 that I covered a couple months ago. So before everyone forgets about it, I thought I would cover the show thus far and see how it has been shaping up as it enters the second half of its 24-episode run.
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A Review of B: The Beginning
For a time, I was concerned about Anime’s place on Netflix. Mainly, big seasonal shows like Fate: Apocrypha and Kakegurui were being licensed, but not released until the entire series was concluded. Granted, I’m not too crazy about Kakegurui now that I have it, but this was still a sign of Netflix’s misunderstanding of how the Anime community consumes the medium. However, as time has passed, my worries are slowly being erased completely.
Viral hits like Musaka Yuuasa’s recent Devilman: Crybaby or any of the many Polygon Pictures shows are being released all at once exclusively on Netflix. There are still hurdles though, like Violet Evergarden apparently being on Netflix in every other country besides America. Regardless, they are producing a ton of new shows and one recent addition to the roster may have been exactly the type of show that I have been waiting a while for.
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A Review of the Kizumonogatari Trilogy
Studio Shaft turned Nisio Isin’s bizarre, engaging, and dialogue rich novel series into one of the most visually appealing Animated series of all time and if you have never watched the Monogatari series before, now is the time to give it a try.
If aesthetic and visual storytelling is your jam, then Kizumonogatari will be your bible. Announced in 2010, this trilogy tells the tale of wounds that put the entire story of the series into motion, making it the perfect place to jump in for newcomers.
First Impressions of DARLING in the FRANXX
Studio Trigger, to me, is the darling (pun not intended) of the Anime industry. It didn’t start that way, mind you. The hype and praise surrounding it was merely built on the staff list and the ridiculous expectations of fans who were bound to be disappointed when Kill la Kill wasn’t perfection. Factor in several other duds like Ninja Slayer or the second Little Witch OVA and it starts feeling like Trigger was all talk.
Thankfully, with shows like Kiznaiver or Space Patrol Luluco, Trigger is starting to really earn the hype it garnered at the beginning. It is a studio overflowing with creativity, exploring new avenues and other genres with every project, even if they don’t always have a ton of money. Perhaps to rectify that specific issue, Trigger has partnered with A-1 Pictures to produce Darling in the Franxx, a brand new mech anime from the director of The Idolm@ster, Atsushi Nishigori.
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A Review of Star Driver
I must say, ladies and gentlemen, I’m feeling a bit peeved right now. No one thought to notify me that Studio Bones produced a half magical boy, half mech show in 2010, bringing together an all-star staff list to produce one of the most flamboyant, bizarre and visually enticing works that almost none of my friends know about. A delightful gem by the name of Star Driver.
This staff list alone should garner attention from any Anime fan. The director is Takuya Igarashi, director of Soul Eater, Ouran Highschool Host Club, and Bungou Stray Dogs. The script was penned by Youji Enokido, who wrote FLCL, Redline and (again) Bungou Stray Dogs. Hell, sound director Kazuhiro Wakabayashi has so many credits worth mentioning that I’ll just direct you to his MyAnimeList page.
Impressive staff aside though, how do all the pieces fit together? And considering the pedigree of Bones and the other artists working on it, how has this show not been talked about more in the years since it’s release?
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A Review of Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI0OE71dmBM
Sequels can be risky. This is true in any medium, but to many, Anime has a particular reputation for dodgy sequels. Some shows see changes in production staff that rob the sequel of what made the first so great, such is the case with Psycho-Pass 2. Other times, we may never even get a sequel due to low Blu-ray sales and miss out on the closure that any good story needs.
Thankfully, some of my favorite shows have gotten worthwhile sequels, but often I just hope that whatever 12 episode show I watch ends conclusively enough that I won’t be heartbroken should it not get renewed. So it’s with great pleasure that I say that season two of Kekkai Sensen manages to continue the show strong, sticking closer to the source material without disregarding the Anime-original story that made me fall in love with season one.
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First Impressions of Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond
It’s been two years since the end of Blood Blockade Battlefront, arguably the best show of 2015 and one of my personal favorite Anime of all time. You can check out my review of season one here.
Now, I won’t act like I didn’t have my doubts going into the currently airing sequel. I was cautious after hearing that Rie Matsumoto would not be directing this time around. The loss of one creative mind can mean a big difference in determining whether the ship will sail or sink. Thankfully, Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond has not just sailed in its first three episodes, it has soared.
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One Punch Man, My Hero Academia & Superheroes in Anime
It’s a criminal understatement to say that Superheroes are pretty big in America. The Marvel Cinematic universe alone has been releasing some of the highest grossing films every year since 2008, having released 16 films at the time of writing. Superheroes and what they stand for are integral to American pop culture. America isn’t the only country with superheroes, but it is safe to say it popularized them by creating some of the most iconic heroes ever made.
So it’s interesting what happens when artists from other countries craft stories about Superheroes. How do they view superheroes and what kinds of stories do they make about them? British comic artists like Alan Moore opt for a more grim take on superhumans in alternate timeline stories like Watchman or even in established properties like Batman: The Killing Joke. But recently, Japan has made a few Anime that have captured the superhero market of America in a big way.
One Punch Man by Studio Madhouse and My Hero Academia by Studio Bones are two of the most popular Anime of the last three years. Both produced by credible high-profile studios and both garnering a fair following in the US. The former a viral hit and the latter an ongoing shonen series that is essentially a textbook guide for how to do a shonen series right. On top of all of that, these shows are fantastic superhero stories.
There is a reason I chose to analyze these two series through the lens of superhero fiction rather than say the shonen genre like most people do. The most monumental difference I notice between these two Anime and superheroes in the west is that the government doesn’t just coexist with superheroes, but actively regulates and monitors them.
Keeping this in mind, what would it be like to live in the worlds of these shows or even be a hero in one of them? Are these societies and their systems stable? Most importantly, what do these shows do with the superhero genre that isn’t too common in American superhero fiction?
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Sakura Sunrise 