The animated film "Your Name." is taking Japan by storm, with its box office revenues surpassing the ¥10 billion ($99 million) mark in just 28 days since its release, marking a milestone for a Japanese animation other than the works of renowned director Hayao ...
'Song of the Sea': Seals, fairies and ancient folk songs
When Isao Takahata's "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" lost out to "Big Hero 6" in the competition for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards last year, it was a reminder of how thoroughly 3-D computer animation has eclipsed more traditional techniques. In the ...
'The 70th Anniversary of Sazae-san: The Best of Machiko Hasegawa'
Aug. 27-Oct. 10 In 1946, as Japan was still reeling from World War II, cartoonist Machiko Hasegawa provided the nation with some much-needed light relief when she conceived the mega-hit manga "Sazae-san." To celebrate the title's 70th anniversary, this exhibition honors the life of Hasegawa, ...
'Rudolph the Black Cat': Curiosity helps this little black cat
Many Japanese films for kids are entries in venerable anime series belonging to multiplatform franchises. To their target audience they are pre-sold and, in their formulas, pre-seen. And that audience is by and large domestic. One big exception is "Stand By Me Doraemon," a ...
'Louvre Museum Exhibition: Louvre No. 9 — Manga, the 9th Art'
July 22-Sept. 25 Mention the Louvre, and most people will think of the "Mona Lisa" hanging in the hushed, historical surroundings. So it may come as a surprise to discover that the museum, famous for its collection of old masterpieces, also has a vested interest ...
Publisher Kadokawa asks readers to pick 88 Japan 'pilgrimage' spots from manga
Comic book publisher Kadokawa Corp. will hold a vote on 88 top spots chosen from hundreds of scenes in the anime and manga it publishes to promote Japanese tourism, Chairman Tsuguhiko Kadokawa announced. Announcing the online voting event at the annual Hong Kong Book Fair ...
Big issues in film short 'World of Tomorrow'
Given the limited options for theatrical release, short films are generally condemned to the purgatory of YouTube, which makes the case of "World of Tomorrow" especially striking. Since premiering at last year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize, ...
Anime producers apologize for Islamic call to prayer in music
The producers of the Japanese TV anime series “Noragami Aragoto” apologized Saturday for using what sounds like the Muslim call to prayer in the program’s background music.
Isao Takahata's stark world of reality
Having survived a devastating U.S. air raid on his hometown in World War II, film director Isao Takahata has firsthand experience of the horrors of war. It's perhaps not surprising, therefore, that he staunchly opposes Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempt to push controversial security ...
Young Juvenile Youth courts clubs and charts
Whether it's younger stars like Sam Smith and Charli XCX whose pasts have seen collaborations with producers such as Disclosure, Alex Metric and Starkey, or established names like Bjork delving into the underground to work with Arca and The Haxan Cloak, the trajectories of ...
Hideaki Anno: emotional deconstructionist
With dozens of the renowned filmmaker's works scheduled to be screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival over the next two weeks, we speak to the man behind the 'Evangelion' sci-fi franchise about his apocalyptic influences and prod him on the question that is ...
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Thursday it has picked anime director Hayao Miyazaki as one of three recipients of its Honorary Award this year. The only other Japanese to receive the award was Akira Kurosawa, in ...
