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 at this all-timer production… and what’s next for KyoAni as well, while we’re at it. Our first piece dedicated to CITY: The Animation was meant as an introduction to such a unique project, while the second one was a detailed chronicle of its production process, the involvement of original author Keiichi Arawi... Read More Read More
Sep 29, 2025 • Subscribe
More like this
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,…
Rebuilding Kyoto Animation’s Unique Production Pipeline: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S Production Notes 03-12
Let’s dedicate a final look at Maidragon’s second season and its role in KyoAni’s gradual rebuild—the why and how they made a beautiful show with a smaller team…
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…
SSSS.DYNAZENON – Production Notes 11-12 And Final Impressions
We’re due a final in-depth look at SSSS.Dynazenon: the creators who stood out in the last stages, the fascinating answers to some seemingly unanswered riddles, and what to…
86: Eighty Six – Production Notes 04-11 And Final Impressions
A teaser for 86: Eighty Six’s second cours dropped today, so let’s look back at this surprisingly daring show—a stunning showcase of a beginner director’s vision, technical skill,…
Kyoto Animation’s Forgotten Romantic Drama
Many would enjoy this anime if they knew about it. So here I am, doing my part to give Noroi no One Piece its long overdue spotlight.
Kyoto Animation’s love towards mentors
Clockwise from top right: Taki Noboru, Sasabe Goro, Takigawa Masaki, Mikhail Makarovich Nitori & Azuma Ryuji Kyoto Animation is known for 4 things: moe character designs, attention to…
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…
City The Animation
Uhm, did Nichijou finally get a sequel? I mean, it has been well more than 10 years since that series aired! Well, it is not a sequel. But…
Kyoto Animation’s subcontract work – Part 2
Continuing with highlighting some of KyoAni’s most interesting subcontract work, I’ll discuss one of their collaborations with Gonzo as well as their work on the Tsutomu Mizushima x…
Kyoto Animation’s subcontract work – Part 1
Before Kyoto Animation started producing their own anime (with Munto OVA in 2003) resp. started serving as a prime contractor, the studio had mainly been known for the…
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! 08-12 – Production Notes And Final Impressions
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken came to an end without compromising the ideals of its production, even as deadlines got tight by the end. This is our final…
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! 08-12 – Production Notes And Final Impressions
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken came to an end without compromising the ideals of its production, even as deadlines got tight by the end. This is our final…
Gintama The Final: The Best Animation in the Franchise! | Production Analysis
All about the production of the movie ‘Gintama: The Final’!
Bakuten!! #03 – Production Notes
Storyboard/Episode DirectorYoshiyuki FujiwaraChief Animation DirectorYuka ShibataAnimation DirectorMiki Muto, Naho KozonoAction SupervisionFumiaki Kouta Key AnimationShino Kuzuhara, Miki Muto, Susumu Matsunaga, Yoshiyuki Fujiwara, Miyako Yatsu, Naho KozonoKeiichi Ishikura, Nana Fujiki,…
SSSS.DYNAZENON – Production Notes 10
SSSS.Dynazenon #10 was an explosive showcase of young creative energy drawing the audience in and out of a stunning illusion, and at the same time, proof of how…
Bakuten!! #02 – Production Notes
Storyboard/Episode DirectorSeishiro NagayaChief Animation DirectorAya NakanishiAnimation DirectorAya Nakanishi, Shogo MatsumotoAction SupervisionFumiaki KoutaKey AnimationAika Kawasaki, Shuto Enomoto, Shino Tsuzurahara, Takuya Yoshihara, Ayumu Ikeda, Toumitsu Ina, Shou Ochiai, Yui Kinoshita,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
RPM Challenge 2023 production notes
The RPM Challenge is inspiring, because it gives me an objective and a set deadline to fight procrastination, but it’s also frustrating because I don’t feel that I…
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…
Episode 387 - City: the Animation
This week, Shaun feels it's time to get absurd with the first 3 episodes of City: the Animation Meanwhile Remington is at a loss for words. If you'd like to…
The Kyoto Animation Fire and Mental Health Pleas
In 2019, Shinji Aoba broke into Kyoto Animation studio (also known as KyoAni), sprayed gasoline, and ignited it. He escaped to the nearby train station before collapsing from…
The Recipe For An Impossible Animation Team – Princess Connect Re:Dive Season 2 Production Notes
Princess Connect Re:Dive Season 2 #04 is without a doubt one of the most jaw-dropping action spectacles in recent TV anime, while remaining every bit as charming as…
One Piece Animation Production
Skooga Edited by @TeeHallumsYT SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@totallynotmark
Thank You, Kyoto Animation
It is absolutely heartbreaking that the worst tragedy in postwar Japanese history had to happen to one of the best studios in the anime industry. I just cannot…
In re Kyoto Animation
I can't remember how long the blurb at the top left corner of my blog has referenced Haruhi in some way. Probably at least a decade by now.
Thank You Kyoto Animation
After the horrific tragedy that occurred last July, I knew I needed to write as near a perfect personal tribute to the wonderful people at Kyoto Animation as…
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,…
Beyond The Boundary | Kyoto Animation Unleashed
My heart has belonged to Kyoto Animation for a long time. And their shows have always looked good – that’s not even a faintly nuanced observation. The 2010s…
Kyoto Animation’s History In Communicating With Fans: The Anibaka Staff Blog
As part of the healing process and necessary restructuring after the devastating arson attack, Kyoto Animation’s staff blog paused operations after 19 years of daily writing about the…
Stories without Stories: CITY the Animation
With City, the Animation, which is by implication nothing at all like City, the manga, we’ve got another of those slice-of-life stories that doesn’t really have a plot.…
Demon City Shinjuku | KYOTO VIDEO
How does Yoshiaki Kawajiri follow up his success with Wicked City? By going for a more mainstream appeal with Demon City Shinjuku. But don't let that scare you…
Transformers — Scramble City: The Mobilization | KYOTO VIDEO
Because of its vast success in the West, some people have made the assumption that the Transformers owe everything to America in its success. That's completely wrong. We're…
Wonder Egg Priority – Production Notes 01-02
Wonder Egg Priority is a truly unique show, an effort by an up-and-coming star to repurpose the creative language of one of anime’s greatest directors in a way…
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…
86: Eighty Six – Production Notes 01-03
86: Eighty Six packs a fairly compelling war story with a surprisingly nuanced political message. And this is how its team is streamlining it and amplifying its impact,…
Kyoto Animation – Two Years Later
It's been a few years but we now have a new season of anime from Kyoto Animation. And I am so thrilled I just have to write about…
On Grieving for Kyoto Animation
Grief is an emotion I know too well — and yet, it shocks me every time. When I saw tweets about Kyoto Animation’s studio burning, I was planning…
Love Letter to Kyoto Animation
These shows aren’t just about magic. They are magical.
Kyoto Animation One-Year Memorial
The coronavirus has made days feel like weeks and weeks like months. It’s been one year since the Kyoto Animation arson tragedy, and yet I could swear it…
Kyoto Animation a Year Later
On July 18, 2019, shortly after 10:30 am, local time, a fire broke out at Kyoto animation’s main studio building. It was a horrific event that left 36…
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…
Production Assistants and the Production Side
A while ago a manual on the job of a Production Assistant (制作進行) was published by the Association of Japanese Animation (AJA), defining what this job is and…
Ani-Gamers Podcast #195 – CITY The Animation
Evan and David are back for Evan’s review of CITY The Animation, the 2025 spiritual successor to Nichijou from the same manga author and studio: Keiichi Arawi and…
Nichijou - My Ordinary Life, Azumanga Daioh: The Animation, Daily Lives of High School Boys
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…
Kizumonogatari Part 1: Key Animation Notes
Relive the first Kizumonogatari film through the eyes of its all-star animation team.
