For devoted animation fans, Studio Trigger is undoubtedly one of medium’s dominant powerhouses. Founded by director Hiroyuki Imaishi, who broke off from Gainax, Trigger has delivered a succession of prodigious works. Efforts like Kill la ...
Read More »Millennium Actress review
2001’s Millennium Actress opens with shots of a determined female astronaut breaking free of Earth’s gravitational possession. Reminiscent of several popular science fiction films, she’s the resolute hero, determined on exploring the cosmos alone, on ...
Read More »Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day review
On the surface, Sound! Euphonium explores the myriad of tribulations faces during teenage life. The novel, manga, and anime center around members of the Kitauji High School Concert Band Club. Once a prestigious competitor for ...
Read More »Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion review
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (affectionately known as DanMachi in Japan) success stems from several remarkable traits. Fujino Ōmori’s light novel, as well as the property’s adaptations in ...
Read More »Penguin Highway review
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 ...
Read More »Made in Abyss: Journey’s Dawn review
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 ...
Read More »Sailor Moon S: The Movie review
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, ...
Read More »Liz and the Blue Bird review
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 ...
Read More »Tackling Fear with Tito and the Birds
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 ...
Read More »The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl review
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 ...
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