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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…
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!
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…
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 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
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! – 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
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…
From Dennou Coil To The Orbital Children: Mitsuo Iso, Animating The Future
Nearly 15 years since the cult hit Dennou Coil, its spiritual successor The Orbital Children has just been released. This is the story of how and why they…
The Complicated Relationship Between Anime Production Schedules, Working Conditions, Quality, And Exploitation
Anime’s production schedules, the wellbeing of its creators, and the quality of their work are deeply interconnected. It’s a complex balance fraught with misunderstandings, and even lie…
Ranking of Kings / Ousama Ranking – Production Notes 01-03
Despite being a directorial debut for Yosuke Hatta, the cohesive clarity of Ousama Ranking makes it a masterclass in adaptation already. And so it’s time to explore the…
Fall 2021 Anime Overview
The Fall 2021 anime season is frontloaded with a few truly exceptional creative efforts, then chockful of titles with interesting teams having to brawl with this industry’s circumstances.…
The Heike Story, Lupin III, SAKUGAN, Selection Project, Blue Period
A Masterclass In Illustrating A Singular Worldview: Sonny Boy And Shingo Natsume
Sonny Boy is an anomaly in commercial media, let alone as a TV anime: a fascinating creator given a blank cheque that he cashed in to explore his…
Naoko Yamada’s Departure From Kyoto Animation And Science Saru’s Painful Reinvention: End Of An Era, Start Of An Era?
KyoAni’s most renowned director Naoko Yamada left the studio she had dedicated her entire career to and is now directing Heike Monogatari at Science Saru—a studio in the…
The Road To Stone Ocean: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Directorial Retrospective
The upcoming Stone Ocean adaptation marks the return of one of the most brilliant Jojo directors, so there has been no better time for a long retrospective of…
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Focused Excellence And The State Of 2D Mecha Anime
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway is shaping up to be an excellent film trilogy, a collective effort by creators who approach realism from their own angle coupled with stellar…
SSSS.DYNAZENON – Production Notes 05-09
The time has come for another deep dive on SSSS.Dynazenon’s production: a mix of unique in-house Trigger talent and outside help, working in conjunction to create a show…
SSSS.DYNAZENON – Production Notes 01-04
SSSS.Dynazenon is an already fascinating follow-up to 2018’s Gridman, an equally evocative love letter to tokusatsu and mecha titles that wears its Anno influences in its sleeves, while…
Spring 2021 Anime Overview And The State Of The Anime Industry
It’s time to go over the many interesting offerings in the Spring 2021 anime season to talk about their creative teams, the themes they’re touching on, and their…
86 EIGHTY-SIX, Backflip!!, Pretty Boy Detective Club, Godzilla Singular Point, Megalobox
Kizumonogatari Staff Interview: Ace Animators’ Commentary
This week’s Kizumonogatari translation is a collection of commentaries by the ace animators who handled the most iconic sequences, talking about their feelings and goals with those scenes,…
Kizumonogatari Staff Interview: CG Director Shinya Takano
Our Kizumonogatari interview translations continue with a conversation with CG director Shinya Takano, who reminisces about the production and its extremely ambitious approach that grew far bigger …
TV Anime, A Deadly Landscape Even For High Profile Productions: SK8 And Wonder Egg Priority’s Struggles
SK8 The Infinity and Wonder Egg Priority are two original passion projects, both also being high-profile productions that have been in the works for a long time. Despite…
Wonder Egg Priority – Production Notes 04-07
Most Wonder Egg Priority episodes so far have been fantastic first time showings by newbie directors, but what is it about this team’s approach that allows them to…
Kizumonogatari Staff Roundtable: Chief Animation Directors And Unit Directors
Kizumonogatari hit its 5th anniversary last month, and to commemorate that, we’ll be publishing a weekly series of interviews. First, a lengthy conversation with its lead animators and…
Wonder Egg Priority – Production Notes 03
The third episode of Wonder Egg Priority is an amazing directorial debut, capable of modulating its delivery to adapt to a character protecting her wounds with a façade,…
Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2020
We’ve yet again gathered a team of fans from all over the world, as well as animators, directors, and indie creators to share their favorite works and creators…
One Piece, Akudama Drive, Baja's Studio, Dorohedoro, Great Pretender
20 Years Of Ojamajo Doremi: The Ideal Kids Anime Grows Up With Its Audience
Ojamajo Doremi became a formative experience for a whole generation. An impossibly daring team with a perfect overlap of young and veteran talent at Toei accompanied kids across…
Ufotable’s 20th Anniversary: A Tale of Wild But Meticulous Growth
Studio Ufotable recently hit their 20th anniversary, which they celebrated with their most successful title to date. Their history up till this point has been marked by consistent…
Akira, Dokkoida?!, Fate/Zero, Twin Love, Twin Love Alternative
Twilight Wings: A Labor Of Love By The Pokemon Generation
Let’s dig into Pokemon Twilight Wings: the simply stunning production, the beautiful exercise in storytelling efficiency, and the secret at the core of it all—a young team channeling…
Exclusive Interview With Spencer Wan: Studio Grackle’s Technique And Philosophy
A few days ago, the stunning trailer for Hades served as an introduction to Studio Grackle. We had an opportunity to chat with the person who directed it:…
Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World Season 2 – Production Notes S2 01-05 (26-30)
It’s no secret that Re:Zero’s staff is facing more adversities than ever before, so how have they been managing to still knock all the big moments in the…
Fifteen Years of The iDOLM@STER – Carrying a Legacy Forward to the Future
With fifteen years officially in the record books, it’s safe to say that The iDOLM@STER has made its mark within the plethora of industries it’s now attached to.…
KyoAni’s Current Osaka Leaders: Eisaku Kawanami x Takuya Yamamura Interview
Today we’ll cover another indispensable part of KyoAni: their energetic Osaka branch Animation Do, as seen through the eyes of their two series directors at the moment. Enjoy…
The KyoAni School: Decades Of Commitment To Training Anime’s Next Generations
While many fans of Kyoto Animation have heard about the KyoAni School, it’s very few who realize their initiative to train new generations of anime creators has been…
Summer 2020 Anime Preview
It’s time for the Summer 2020 anime preview: fewer titles than usual due to the mass postponements the pandemic caused, but also an unnatural concentration of talent for…
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 07-12 – Production Notes And Final Impressions
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 came to an end with big surprises: touching moments that recontextualized entire relationships, and plenty of non-standard production decisions that allowed it…
Anime’s Present And Future At Stake: The In-Betweener Problem
Last week, anime creators with diverse backgrounds and standings in and outside the industry joined their voices to illustrate the hellish experience that is in-betweening. This is how…
Re:Zero Production Journal – Starting a Sequel in a Similar Yet Different World
With Re:Zero season 2 right around the corner, it’s time for a lengthy look back at the team and circumstances that made the original such a successful adaptation,…
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 01-06 – Production Notes
Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2 has reached its midseason climax, and rather than take a quality hit, it’s only been getting better with time thanks to a…
Sing “Yesterday” For Me 01-04 – Production Notes
While current anime get delayed left and right, Yesterday wo Utatte / Sing “Yesterday” for Me sidestepped all those issues by wrapping up its production early. The smart…
Koe no Katachi / A Silent Voice Staff Roundtable: Aesthetics Team
Here’s part two of the Koe no Katachi / A Silent Voice staff roundtable, featuring representatives of various aesthetics departments at KyoAni talking about all the unique processes…
Koe no Katachi / A Silent Voice Staff Roundtable: Director And Animation Team
If you’re in the mood for obsessively precise character acting, we’re here to offer the translation of a long roundtable with A Silent Voice’s director Naoko Yamada and…
Toward A New KyoAni: Violet Evergarden Side Story And Haruka Fujita
Violet Evergarden‘s side story film is a tragic remnant of the skill of many Kyoto Animation artists whose lives were cut far too short, but also a bright…
Violet Evergarden Side Story: Eternity and the Auto Memories Doll Interview – Director Haruka Fujita
Haruka Fujita, who was the sole project leader for the first time with Violet Evergarden Side Story, shared her experiences pre-production, the actual animation process, and the positive…