Anime

Quite a few films, live-action or animated, take a while to reach their eponymous highlight. That’s not the case with the recent stateside release of director Hiroyasu Ishida’s Penguin Highway. Working from Tomihiko Morimi’s (Eccentric ...

When works are adapted for other media, there’s always the risk that something will be lost in the process. Certainly, that’s a possibility with Made in Abyss: Journey’s Dawn, which is twice removed from its ...

When Pioneer Entertainment Sailor Moon S: The Movie arrived stateside in 1999, it trailed the original theatrical Japanese release by a half decade. While the film showcased the irrefutable charm of the animated television series, ...

Visual media habitually employs a big, broad approach when depicting relationships. All too often, social bonds are represented in a simplistic manner that reduces the nuances of communication into caricature. We’re probably so accustomed to ...

Tito and the Birds’ producer, co-director, and co-screenwriter Gustavo Steinberg thinks most modern children’s films are little more than escapist entertainment. Having witnessed the haunting surrealism and muffled moralizing of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate ...

For many, there’s a salient period between the twilight of youth and the dawn of adulthood. Before we allow marriage and mortgage to administer our lives, nights of bacchian revelry offer a spirited eulogy to ...

In the hands of most creatives, a film that explores bullying, disability, and social isolation could become nauseatingly preachy. But with a script penned by K-On!!’s Reiko Yoshida and direction provided by Naoko Yamada, A ...

In the United States, terms like ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’ are quintessential expressions, underscoring an emphasis on individualism. But in Japan, life has traditionally skewed toward collectivism. As such, the word, ‘ganbaru’ is ubiquitous in conversation. ...

The expression of indefatigable determination is Love Live!’s dominant theme. Undoubtedly, the anime’s first two seasons drove this point home, as viewers watched the perpetually energetic Honoka Kōsaka rescue the Otonokizaka Academy from closure, as ...

Anime centered around pop idolatry is hardly novel, with series such as AKB0048, Aikatsu!, Show by Rock!! and The Idolm@ster, each extending their own portrayal of the lives of teenaged songstresses. But with the exceptional ...