Search results
143 results, page 1 of 3
Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2025
Once again, we’ve gathered animators, directors, producers, designers, and people passionate about art to share the works that resonated with them the most last year. It’s time for…
Chainsaw Man, Honey Lemon Soda, LAZARUS, Magical DoReMi, Anne Shirley
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc – The Movie Of The Moment
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc isn’t only a blast to watch. It’s not just a hit. It’s the film that best embodies the current methodology of making…
Apocalypse Hotel And Legacies That Outlast The End Of The World
Apocalypse Hotel made the bumpy road of its creation into a virtue, by confidently mixing different styles, viewpoints, and moods accumulated during its lengthy production process. The result…
Shoushimin Series’ Cinematography And The Unnerving Pretense Of Ordinariness
Shoushimin’s eccentric main characters begin their stories seeking normalcy. The contrast between their wishes and nature matches the way that the show’s framing, hellbent on appearing neutral, becomes…
Hyakuemu / 100 Meters: Uoto & Kenji Iwaisawa’s Full Force Sprint
Hyakuemu / 100 Meters is the collaboration of two charismatic lead creators emerging in the fields of manga and animated filmmaking. Uoto and Kenji Iwaisawa are different artists,…
The Summer Hikaru Died / HikaNatsu’s Seeping Horror And The Concept Of Enshutsu Anime
The Summer Hikaru Died / HikaNatsu‘s anime was conceptualized around Ryohei Takeshita’s adventurous direction, but without losing sight of the author’s core ideas. With a sequel on the…
The Exceptional Growth Of My Dress-Up Darling / Kisekoi Season 2
My Dress-Up Darling / Kisekoi was always charming, but it has reached a new level with a sequel that’s more wildly creative, thematically tighter, and in that process, more…
CITY: The Animation Final Production Notes And Kyoto Animation’s Future
CITY: The Animation ended with yet another explosion of exuberant animation, design, and music to capture Keiichi Arawi’s sensibilities and its joyful themes. Let’s take one last look…
Keiichi Arawi And Kyoto Animation’s Imaginative Quest To Defy The Norms – CITY: The Animation Production Notes #02-11
Working closely together, CITY‘s original author Keiichi Arawi and a Kyoto Animation team built around Taiichi Ishidate defied the norms of TV animation scheduling, stylistic trends, and regular workflows,…
Takopi’s Original Sin Production Notes: The Lengthy Road To Proper Communication
The anime adaptation of Takopi’s Original Sin is the extraordinary result of a bold producer, an overlooked director, and an up-and-coming studio joining hands to make choices others…
Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2024
The time has come again. To bid a final goodbye to 2024, we gathered animators, designers, directors, producers, studio founders, and individuals with all sorts of relationships with…
The Colors Within, Boukyaku Battery, Garden of Remembrance, Negative Positive Angler, Sengoku Youko
An Animator’s Hand Toward A Kinder World: Dandadan Production Notes #05-07
As Dandadan moves on to its next adventures, let’s give a final look at the Acrobatic Silky arc—the people responsible, their fascinating influences, and especially, the majestic final…
Dandadan Production Notes #01-04
Now that the first arc of the Dandadan anime is over, we can look back at how it represents its series director’s extraordinary obsession with internal logic, the…
The Team Behind DAN DA DAN’s Bombastic Fun: Dandadan Production Notes #01
After the broadcast of Dandadan’s first episode, it’s time to explore the team behind this work: not just the personnel and their creative choices, but the easily misunderstood…
The Grounded Worldview Of The Losing Heroines: Makeine Production Notes
Too Many Losing Heroines! / Makeine’s cheeky romcom antics hide a dramatic edge, a mix that its promising rookie director calls a bright, cheerful nostalgia. To convey this…
From Nichijou to CITY: Kyoto Animation’s Gentle Touch Adapting Keiichi Arawi’s Madness
Back in 2011, Nichijou was an ambitious, bombastic, yet also thoughtful experiment to match the unique style of Keiichi Arawi’s with Kyoto Animation’s equally distinctive—and in some ways…
Animating The Stage And The Passion Behind It: Oshi no Ko S2 Production Notes
Oshi no Ko S2 has had to navigate tricky waters to be able to animate a stage play with the type of authenticity that the source material didn’t…
Monogatari’s Past, Present, And Future: Director Midori Yoshizawa And The Synergistic Storytelling In Off & Monster Season
Series director Midori Yoshizawa has ushered in a new era of visual creativity in the Monogatari series that synergizes with its themes of time, identity, and creation. And…
Gimai Seikatsu: An Eclectic Mix Of Avant-garde And Ordinary To Rise Above Limitations
TV anime productions are often severely limited, so how do you rise from that to make something not simply good but genuinely extraordinary? Gimai Seikatsu and rookie director…
![Featured image for Kimi no Iro / The Colors Within: Naoko Yamada’s Love Spins Round and Round [Annecy 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240621/1718979929.86005.125683.jpg)
Kimi no Iro / The Colors Within: Naoko Yamada’s Love Spins Round and Round [Annecy 2024]
Naoko Yamada’s new film Kimi no Iro / The Colors Within is gorgeous, highly entertaining on the surface, but as densely packed as ever. Through colors, light, faith,…
K-ON!, The Colors Within, A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird
![Featured image for Kimi no Iro / The Colors Within: A Polychrome Prayer For Art [Annecy 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240621/1718979930.86006.125684.jpg)
Kimi no Iro / The Colors Within: A Polychrome Prayer For Art [Annecy 2024]
Naoko Yamada’s recent film draws from its relationship with nature, art and the creative process, spiritual imagery, and very specific choices of instruments for its teenage band—all of…
![Featured image for Bakeneko Anzu-chan / Ghost Cat Anzu: Gorgeous Eclectic Co-Production, Parenthood, And A Funny Cat [Annecy 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240616/1718562329.85787.125393.jpg)
Bakeneko Anzu-chan / Ghost Cat Anzu: Gorgeous Eclectic Co-Production, Parenthood, And A Funny Cat [Annecy 2024]
10 years ago, a project began moving. Now, the result is one of the greatest directors of dry Japanese cinema teaming up with a rising star in animation…
![Featured image for Look Back: An Exceptional Production To Embrace The Paradox Of The Artist [Annecy 2024]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20240613/1718276129.85626.125135.jpg)
Look Back: An Exceptional Production To Embrace The Paradox Of The Artist [Annecy 2024]
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back presents the creative process as inherently isolating and frustrating, yet inevitable and a means of connection. Now, its stunning film engages with those ideas…
Hibike! Euphonium S3 Production Notes #01-08: Approaching The Culmination Of TV Anime’s Most Ambitious Acting Effort
Season 3 of Hibike! Euphonium has been a masterful exercise in building up dread out of the mundane, with just as uncanny of a combination of storytelling efficiency…
学園アイドルマスターの描写理念について
今の時代において学園アイドルマスターの立ち位置とその描写理念について、少しの間だけ語らせて下さい。
Kaiba, Kyousougiga, Kyousougiga, Jinsei - Life Consulting, The Idol Master
Adapting to the Modern Age – The Philosophy Behind Gakuen iDOLM@STER’s Visual Identity
Gakuen iDOLM@STER is shaping up to be an interesting new venture for a multitude of reasons, but especially its incorporation of trendy indie artists. As we enter a possible new…
Animating A Silent World – Yubisaki to Renren / A Sign Of Affection Production Notes
Both in the original manga and in its anime adaptation, Yubisaki to Renren / A Sign Of Affection combines extensive research and ingenious creative choices to respectfully, charmingly…
New Recipes At Studio Trigger: Dungeon Meshi Production Notes 01-03
Dungeon Meshi’s anime is the product of the shifting tides at studio Trigger, of a long relationship between the involved parties and the source material, and of a…
Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2023
It’s time for a last look at 2023 with the Sakugabooru Animation Awards. We’ve gathered directors, animators, designers, producers, and passionate fans to share their favorite, most res…
Eureka Seven, Magical Destroyers, My Happy Marriage, One Piece, OVERTAKE!
Gridman Universe Production Retrospective: By Fans, For Fans
Gridman is a series where creators and fans are not separate entities, but rather intertwined and constantly co-evolving groups. We’re due a retrospective about the production of its…
Resourcefulness Reigns Supreme – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Production Notes 05-10
While fans tend to think about production circumstances as black and white, Frieren exemplifies what success tends to look like in the real world: a result of resourceful…
The Weight Of Hayao Miyazaki And Ghibli – The Boy And The Heron / How Do You Live?
Hayao Miyazaki’s storytelling is built upon the dreamlike, empowering physics of the animation that builds his worlds. This offers a fascinating contrast with his latest film The Boy…
Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron, The Wind Rises, Future Boy Conan
Creators Rebelling Against The Odds: Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Production Notes 1-13
At its absolute best, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is a focused effort to fully realize its directors’ ideas, from the grandest action to the least perceptible details. But…
Crafting A Tangible, Aging World – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Production Notes 01-04
Frieren is, at its best, a story tightly written about time; its passage, how different people perceive it, and the tangible marks it leaves in the world and…
The Brilliance And Darkness of Zom 100 Bucket List Of The Dead – Production Notes 01
The first episode of Zom 100 is one hell of a showcase of inventive, fresh, and very bombastic animation and direction, all packaged together with clear intent. It’s…
Can You Assemble A High Profile Anime Studio Out Of Nowhere? – The History Of Cygames Pictures And Uma Musume ROAD TO THE TOP’s Fierce Animation
In an industry like anime where almost everything comes down to personal relationships, is it possible to quickly assemble an entirely new high-profile studio? Cygames Pictures have found…
The Low Profile Brilliance Of Kotomi Deai, Or How Became A Protegee Of Legendary Directors Became Skip And Loafer’s Inconspicuous Director
Skip and Loafer is as pleasant as anime gets. Its director is Kotomi Deai, and this is how she went from being a fan of Shinichiro Watanabe, to…
Michiko & Hatchin, Natsume's Book of Friends, Samurai Champloo, Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings, Silver Spoon
Introduction to Oshi no Ko’s Team: Maximizing Impact Through An Adaptation
Oshi no Ko’s massive, worldwide impact with its first episode is no fluke. Its team is led by savvy, inventive, and sometimes kinda superhuman individuals who tweaked and…
Kyoto Animation’s Ever-Evolving In-House Culture, The Growth Of A New Animation Storyteller, And Tsurune: The Linking Shot
Kyoto Animation’s rebuilding process is allowing the most self-sufficient anime studio to foster in-house production in new ways, all while raising new generations of storytellers in animatio…
Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2022
It’s time for a final look at the greatest animated works of 2022. We’ve gathered commercial and independent animators, directors, designers, writers, musicians, and everything in betwe…
Revue Starlight, Suzume, The Deer King, Vampire in the Garden, Bleach
Bocchi the Rock! Complete Production Notes And Final Impressions
Bocchi the Rock has been a wonderful mix of ridiculous comedy and compelling character growth. Now that it’s over, though with hopes to return, let’s take a final…
Bocchi the Rock! – The More Outrageous The Comedy Animation, The More Compelling The Loneliness And Growth
Bocchi the Rock is an outrageous comedy bursting with the bombastic creativity of its young team, and at the same time, it’s also a genuinely compelling coming-of-age story…
The Two Chainsaw Mans – CSM Production Notes 01-03
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s storytelling is spontaneous, anarchic genius, so how should one adapt Chainsaw Man into anime? Its team committed to a vision that has made two takes on…
Fall 2022 Anime Preview
Fall 2022 is a historically loaded season of anime, the result of concentrating essentially a year’s worth of top talent in one single burst through bold and sometimes…
Chainsaw Man, Do It Yourself!!, Mob Psycho 100, Mob Psycho 100 II, Mob Psycho 100 III
On-Gaku Our Sound: The Reckless 7 Years Hand-Drawn
10 years ago, director Kenji Iwaisawa absentmindedly agreed to create a movie about a group of school delinquents absentmindedly becoming musicians. The result of its long production process…
Tomohiro Furukawa, Revue Starlight The Movie, And The Legacy Of Experience-Centric Anime
Tomohiro Furukawa draws from the philosophy and methods of living legends like Mamoru Oshii, Hideaki Anno, and his mentor Kunihiko Ikuhara. He reconstructs their teaching and his influences…
Revue Starlight: The Movie, Sarazanmai, Yurikuma Arashi, Penguindrum, Revue Starlight
Spy x Family And The Messy History, Dynamics, And Intent Of Anime Co-productions
It’s no secret that Spy x Family is a co-production between Studio WIT and CloverWorks, but what’s the backstory behind that deal, what does it involve, and what…
The Meteoric Ascent of Megumi Ishitani, Toei Animation’s New Heir
Five years ago, we highlighted a woman who had yet to direct a single episode of anime as one of the most promising young creators in the entire…
Directors Who Shine In Spite Of The Anime Industry – 86 Eighty Six and Toshimasa Ishii
Toshimasa Ishii’s direction on 86: Eighty Six elevated a war drama with a keen political outlook, but despite his team’s many successes, they always faced an uphill battle…
Animating Modern Nostalgia – Ranking of Kings / Ousama Ranking Production Notes
Many works nowadays try to manufacture skin-deep nostalgia, but by naturally evoking it, Ousama Ranking can afford to combine that authentic old-school flavor with many innovative modern techniques…