The Anime Aesthetic

20/11/2023

A series of blog posts detailing an exhibition that closed yesterday.
Urban architectural drawing X anime treated as fine art?
Yes please.
Curated by the great Stefan Riekeles by whom I have a couple of exhibition catalogs from his past curation work.
Unfortunately the exhibition catalog for this one is sold out, but this series of blog posts (the first of which is linked here) details the exhibition in depth.

Installation views of the exhibition “Cityscapes in Anime Background Art” at the Yoshiro and Yoshio Taniguchi Museum of Architecture, 17 June - 19 November 2023.

21/02/2023

Uhh... this looks amazing!
The 10 minute free clip on the site is fantastic, and as I understand it the whole thing runs about five and a half hours total.

Legendary director of sci-fi Anime classics like Ghost in the Shell explores key moments from his works & gives a master class in filmmaking and creativity.

09/10/2022

If I were going to teach a class on anime history that included a unit on Mecha anime, I'd probably have students watch the 1981 Mobile Suit Gundam movie, have them read vol 1 of Gundam the Origin, and also read the essay included in the book – a brief 5 pages that are incredibly illuminating – written by Japanese critic Ryusuke Hikawa.

07/10/2022

This new half hour documentary about Trigger is out this week. In English. Really super.

Anime is ecstasy! Unlock the secrets behind "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" and more with an inside look at TRIGGER! THE ANIME STUDIO focuses on studios that produce anime which have a passionate fan base in the world. In this episode, we take a look at TRIGGER, which has been sharing its work with the wor...

06/10/2022

Second volume of key frames etc. for Final Rebuild is now available for pre-order - the book drops in November.

『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』の後半パートを収録。葛城艦長の勇姿、初号機と第13号機の対決や、ゲンドウの独白、マリが操る改8号機γのオーバーラッピングや、終盤の宇部新川駅ラストシーンまで、原画・レイアウ....

06/10/2022

Considering the high level of visual spectacle in the final Rebuild movie, it's definitely going to be worth the effort to see it in a theater.

25/09/2022

Watching Cyberpunk Edgerunners & (the less well known, but also new series) Yurei Deco in parallel is an interesting experience. Both are groundbreaking in their own ways, & inhabit two sides of the same "is it dystopian or utopian?" coin that characterizes so much of SF anime.

Watch YUREI DECO is coming to Crunchyroll! https://got.cr/cc-ydpvCrunchyroll Collection brings you the latest clips, openings, full episodes, and more from y...

19/08/2022

Watch this ASAP.
Incredible.

Cameras capture a manga master at work, providing an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the process. Known as the animator behind "Mobile Suit Gundam," Yasuhiko Yoshikazu takes on his final serialized manga, "Inui and Tatsumi." At over 70, he moves his brush across the page, effortlessly creati...

09/08/2022

YT playlist of the full score to Inu-Oh, which opens this Friday in the US.

https://youtu.be/HpfFOYYGrNM?list=OLAK5uy_lRz2oN3SipzE53duPWHr9CPxIYq50G88A

18/07/2022

New Final Eva Rebuild Groundwork book dropped last week. First volume. Absolutely massive. Mostly a key frame collection.
Available wherever you usually buy such things – which for me is Amazon dot jp.

14/07/2022

Fans of Mamoru Hosoda in the UK might want to pick up some of this cool merch!

From time travel to virtual worlds, explore the mind of director Mamoru Hosoda and celebrate all of his greatest works with this collection of official licensed merchandise. All of these products are strictly limited in quantity, so when they're gone, they're gone - don't miss out!

11/07/2022

The Hollywood disaster movie Deluge was made in 1933, the same year as King Kong. The practical special effects in King Kong are known to have greatly influenced Eiji Tsuburaya, special effects director for Godzilla (1954). It wouldn't surprise me if Deluge also influenced his work - especially his later work creating the effects for his Ultraman TV series. Lots of destruction in almost every episode of that series, and much of that destruction looks a lot like this amazing (and LONG) clip - which, remember, was made about 90 years ago!
Pretty intense stuff.

11/07/2022

Just finished bingeing the new Spriggan anime on Netflix.

In case it's not a familiar title to you, it's kind of like if the Indiana Jones / Tomb Raider movies leaned more into science fiction territory, had lots more explosions, and had fight scenes with more Fist of the Northstar flavor.

Pretty fun stuff, and the 45 minute long episodes give it more of an OVA series flavor where things can be developed more and feel less rushed.

09/07/2022

I bought a couple books from Seven Seas this week to celebrate their decision to recognize the unionization of their employees.

01/07/2022

This book looks amazing and the crowdfund for publishing it with English translation (that preserves all the original calligraphic lettering!) is now in its final days.
It's already well past its funding goal, but especially if you're someone who likes signed, limited, and numbered editions that include original sketches you might want to jump in on this.

Bigger, bolder, and louder than ever before, neo-manga artist Yokoyama Yuichi is back with the stunning graphic novel PLAZA!

30/06/2022

There's someone who looks familiar to me in the mo-cap suits shown in this VFX breakdown video...
(Hint: he's reprising a role from one of his first short film productions.)