The Japanese pop music industry is famous–or infamous–for manufacturing pop groups that become the flavor of the month, then quickly fade from view. Shonen Hollywood: Holly Stage for 49 (2014) offers a mildly upbeat look at the phenomenon.

Based on the manga by Yusei Matsui, the series Assassination Classroom has a premise that’s bizarre, even by the freewheeling standards of anime. An alien destroys 70% of the moon, leaving just a permanent crescent. He threatens to do the same to the Earth unless certain conditions are met. The creature insists on being made […]

Takeshi Obata is a noted manga-ka, or manga artist, whose work includes the popular titles “Hikaru no Go,” “Death Note” and “Bakuman,” all of which have been animated. The first two have also been adapted to live action. This large-format (10.5” x 15”) anthology showcases his artwork for magazine covers, posters, calendars, etc. The illustrations […]

Here’s a teaser for Napping Princess: The Story Of the Unknown Me (Hirune Hime – Shiranai Wabash No Monogatari), the new anime film by director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex; Eden Of The East). Opening in Japan later this year via Warner Bros., the film is set in Okayama prefecture in […]

Coming out on July 8th in China, Big Fish and Begonia is an elaborate animated feature directed by Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun. According to this Chinese website, the film was 12 years in the making – and partially funded through crowd sourcing.

American animated characters sailed unscathed through the financial meltdown of 2008 and its after effects: Po could afford all the dumplings he could eat, Hiro and his friends had the cutting-edge technology and supplies they needed, and Hiccup wasn’t underwater on his father’s hut. Their Japanese counterparts wrestled with problems of money and motivation in […]