The 100-meter dash may be the most prestigious competition in modern athletics, but can such a short, straight race really make for engaging animation? This was the question driving director Kenji Iwaisawa as he approached this ambitious adaptation of the popular five-volume web manga by Uoto, Hyakuemu. Iwaisawa’s solution, he explained at the film’s world… Read More Film Review: 100 Meters (Hyakuemu)
Welcome to the Ooku, the harem of the Tenno, the Emperor of Japan. In this colorful, luxurious space, forbidden to men under the penalty of immediate beheading, an all-female service takes care of the eight concubines of the one sitting on the Chrysanthemum Throne. They also perform various sacred ceremonies, and the first among them… Read More First Impression: Mononoke. The Phantom in the Rain
It’s a well-known fact that orange cats are…special. But temple cat Anzu-chan may just be the most special orange of all: he’s 37 years old, close to six feet tall, and rides a motorbike like a speed demon. He can talk too, but not well enough to get himself out of paying a fine when… Read More Film Review: Ghost Cat Anzu
Blue Giant has been the toast of the animation festival circuit this past year and it’s easy to see why. It takes what can at times feel like an intimidating subject—jazz performance—and explores it in a dynamic, yet accessible way that will have both diehard aficionados and complete newcomers to the music genre tapping their… Read More Blue Giant and Yuzuru Tachikawa’s Jazz
It’s a typical day in Japan. Overworked salary men and women are coming and going about their business, school kids are goofing off on their phones, a giant Digi-Egg is floating over Tokyo Tower blasting messages around the world…same old, same old. Japan has seen weirder, truth be told, especially THIS iteration of Japan. Even… Read More Film Review: Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning
Polygon Pictures is celebrating its 40th anniversary in style with the release of the feature film sequel to its sci-fi fantasy, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea. The film, Star Sage, marks a satisfying ending to the tale of Kaina, the boy who lived above the icy canopy of the world; Ririha, the princess of… Read More Film Review: Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: Star Sage
In 1929, the Surrealist painter René Magritte stunned the world with his painting The Treachery of Images, which depicted a pipe accompanied by the cheeky caption, “This is not a pipe.” He was right of course: it was the painting of a pipe. Audiences were split in their reactions: many were enraged at the perceived… Read More Review: Jujutsu Kaisen 0
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