Tag - anime

 
 

ANIME

Rising directorial star Sho Miyake's new relationship drama, "All the Long Nights," centers on two colleagues (Hokuto Matsumura, left, and Mone Kamishiraishi) who form a bond when they discover they both struggle with health issues.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 19, 2024
Familiar faces return to the big screen in 2024
Amid a roster of hits such as "Demon Slayer," “Doraemon” and “Detective Conan," Japanese cinema gets a little more inclusive in the year ahead.
A teenage boy (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) discovers he has been changed into a vampire in “Kizumonogatari.”
CULTURE / Film
Jan 11, 2024
‘Kizumonogatari’: The weirdness is back and better than ever
Tatsuya Oishi combines three anime adaptations of Nisioisin’s book into one edit that retains the gore and humor of the original.
A cinema employee checks a display showing a digital poster (right) for Hayao Miyazaki's most recent film, "The Boy and the Heron," in Tokyo on July 14.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 8, 2024
Anime giant Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' wins Golden Globe
Miyazaki, an Oscar-winning animator, announced his retirement in 2013 after producing "The Wind Rises" but began making the full-length film in 2017.
“The First Slam Dunk” was animated in a style known as 3DCG anime, which combines the hard outlines and flat planes of traditional 2D animation with 3D models and movement.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 5, 2024
Anime is going digital. Fans are wary.
As the industry continues to embrace computer-generated work, some audiences struggle to accept the change.
From movies, anime, manga and even to sports stars, 2023 was a year where global audiences demonstrated their increasing fondness for Japanese soft power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2023
From Godzilla to Shohei: Japan's soft power had a big year
Little by little, Japan is getting better at pitching its copious wares overseas, and 2023 proved that.
Holiday classic "Tokyo Godfathers" centers on three homeless people who have formed a makeshift family.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2023
Satoshi Kon’s unexpected anime classic for the holidays
The late director and animator's "Tokyo Godfathers" celebrates 20 years with new screenings.
A young girl’s imaginary friend, Rudger (Kokoro Terada), is separated from his grieving “owner” in “The Imaginary.”
CULTURE / Film
Dec 21, 2023
‘The Imaginary’: Flight of fancy could have soared even higher
Animation studio Ponoc’s feature is a visual treat with some poignant moments, but it won’t be taking on the mantle from Studio Ghibli just yet.
In Hayao Miyazaki's films, characters often experience life-changing revelations in midair, such as Haku and Chihiro in "Spirited Away."
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2023
How Hayao Miyazaki’s films continue to take us to the skies
When characters take flight in the films of the master animator, there is always a deeper meaning.
A screenshot of the website for "The One Piece"
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 19, 2023
'One Piece' series to be remade on Netflix
Titled "The One Piece," the show is set to be released on streaming services. The release date is yet to be determined.
While Hayao Miyazaki’s return to filmmaking, “The Boy and the Heron,” did not attain the ¥10 billion milestone that the beloved animator’s movies had once routinely surpassed, it debuted at the top of the North American box office and became the first original anime film to lead the box office in the United States and Canada.
CULTURE / Film / 2023 in Review
Dec 15, 2023
Japan’s auteurs and anime triumphed in 2023
From Hayao Miyazaki's “The Boy and the Heron” to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster,” the box-office hits kept coming.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023
Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda
Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” received Golden Globes nominations for best animated motion picture and best original score for a motion picture this week.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023
'The Boy and the Heron' and 'Godzilla Minus One' win over U.S.
While both Japanese films broke records at the North American box office, Hayao Miyazaki's latest also received two Golden Globes nominations.
The trial for Shinji Aoba in a Kyoto Animation arson-murder case concluded at the Kyoto District Court Thursday, with prosecutors demanding a death penalty.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 7, 2023
Death penalty sought for man over 2019 Kyoto Animation arson attack
Shinji Aoba, 45, is facing charges including murder over the blaze at the animation studio's premises.
Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement this year with “The Boy and the Heron,” which opened to critical acclaim and has so far earned ¥8.56 billion — a good showing but not enough to take the top spot at the box office for the year.
CULTURE / Film / 2023 in Review
Nov 30, 2023
The year that defined the post-Miyazaki era
The success of “Oshi no Ko,” “Detective Conan” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” proved that anime is the mainstream now.
“The Boy and the Heron” marks Hayao Miyazaki’s return from retirement.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 27, 2023
What’s it like to work with Hayao Miyazaki? Go behind the scenes.
The anime master is a creature of habit who talks every day with his longtime producer, and keeps it more hands off with his regular composer.
“Blue Giant,” a feature-length anime movie that centers on young men in Tokyo who aspire to become jazz stars, was so successful in Japan and overseas that director Yuzuru Tachikawa was given an even bigger budget to re-edit the film for a second screening in theaters across Japan.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 23, 2023
Sleeper hit anime 'Blue Giant' gets an encore
The surprise success of the big-budget feature about jazz warranted a re-edited version and a second life in theaters.
A Tendon Tenya outlet in Bangkok, Thailand
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2023
Number of Japanese restaurants abroad triples in last decade
By country, China had the most Japanese restaurants at 78,760, followed by the United States at 26,040 and South Korea at 18,210.
A young news editor (voiced by Kensho Ono) is assigned to cover a distillery helmed by a rising star of the Japanese whisky scene (Saori Hayami) in “Komada: A Whisky Family.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2023
‘Komada: A Whisky Family’ has the complexity of a bottom-shelf bottle
Anime studio P.A. Works’ film centered on whisky production takes the fun out of delving into what unfolds behind the scenes in a workplace.
A spear, modeled on the "Spear of Longinus" that features in the hit anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion," protrudes from the ground in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in October.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2023
'Spear of Longinus' from anime 'Evangelion' lands in Yamaguchi
The spear is the work of young employees at a steel-maker, and is installed in the city where the series' director was born.
The basement of the new Anime Tokyo Station facility houses the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's archives of anime production materials.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
New anime facility opens in Tokyo showcasing capital's archives
Anime Tokyo Station, spanning a total area of around 1,300 square meters, aims to promote anime-based industry, culture and tourism in the capital.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals