Western animation - particularly the big-budget mainstream kind - tend to record performances before they animate, but when it comes to anime, this is rarely the case. Why is that? Justin gets into it. ― James asked: Some time ago, you stated that one of the major differences between western animation and Japanese animation is that, in western animation, all dialogue is recorded first, and then the ...

game review

0 comments

Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle

Sep 24, 11:00

0 comments

games

Capcom resurrects a bunch of their classic arcade brawlers with a seven-game collection. Do they still put up a fight? ― Brawlers. Beat 'Em Ups. Belt-Scrollers. Double Dragon Clones. Punk Punching Parades. Those Arcade Games That Mom And Dad Always Said Were Too Violent For You Back in 1988. Whatever you call them, they never quite got their moment on top. True, they were staples of arcades in the la...

review

4 comments

UQ Holder! GN 10

Sep 23, 13:10

4 comments

manga

UQ Holder’s tenth volume leans heavily on Akamatsu’s laziest tendencies, trending far more harem than action spectacle. ― Ken Akamatsu's works have been a balancing act between harem shenanigans and fantasy aspirations, ever since Love Hina's mild-mannered Keitaro was spirited away by a squad of zeppelins. Negima more or less split the difference between these goals, offering legitimately thrilling a...

column

47 comments

The List - 7 Times Western Music Invaded Anime

Sep 22, 12:00

47 comments

anime

From Radiohead to the Backstreet Boys, here are 7 times Western music found its way into some of your favorite anime opening and closing theme songs. ― A recent article about the potential death of the 90-second anime song intro got me thinking about some of my favorite opening and ending sequences. I realized that while the vast majority of anime credit songs are in Japanese (with a few English fla...

review

0 comments

Escape Journey GN 1

Sep 22, 10:34

0 comments

manga

Escape Journey is one of those BL manga that struggles to hit a note between “romantic” and “kind of upsetting.” ― Escape Journey is one of those BL manga that struggles to hit a note between “romantic” and “kind of upsetting.” It's the story of a relationship that could be termed unhealthy from some points of view, and like many of what are known as “Old Skool” romances, consent isn't always a given...

feature

8 comments

Anime Spotlight - Zombie Land Saga

Sep 21, 20:00

8 comments

anime

Without any say in the matter, the girls wander into the "Greatest x Worst Zombie World." They only have one wish.

"We want to live." ― Zombie Land Saga Official Website: https://zombielandsaga.com/ Introduction Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery Premiers October 4, 2018 (JST) Key Staff Director: Munehisa Sakai ("One Piece Film Strong World (movie)", "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal (ONA 201...

column

3 comments

The Best of "This Week in Anime"

Sep 21, 16:34

3 comments

anime

Just over a year after its creation, Nick, Micchy, Jacob, and Steve of This Week in Anime have laughed and cried over an avalanche of great and terrible anime. Here are some of our favorite memorable moments. ― Hello everyone! Our "This Week in Anime" feature will return next Tuesday to cover the newest avalanche of Netflix premieres, but in the meantime, we thought we'd put together a Best Of TWIA t...

column

12 comments

ANNCast - Your Eternal Reward

Sep 21, 14:00

12 comments

manga

Kodansha Comics is releasing the Sailor Moon manga all over again, so Manga Answerman Deb Aoki joins the show for a chat with Kodansha editor Lauren Scanlan and superstar translation team Alethea and Athena Nibley for a chat about what it took to put this giant book together. ― ANNCast 335 - Your Eternal Reward Kodansha Comics is releasing the Sailor Moon manga all over again, so Manga Answerman Deb...

feature

27 comments

30 Years of Gunbuster

Sep 21, 13:00

27 comments

anime

It's been three decades since a team of now-legendary artists at Gainax first unleashed the sci-fi mecha classic Gunbuster on the world - Dawn H. files an appreciation of this massively influential OVA. ― For people of a certain age (like yours truly), Gunbuster might have been something you first saw at an anime club viewing many years ago. Crowded around a 19” tube TV, watching the old US Rendition...

column

43 comments

Manga Answerman - Why Do So Many Manga Artists Avoid Being Photographed?

Sep 21, 12:00

43 comments

anime

Many mangaka are notoriously camera-shy, choosing instead to only represent themselves with an illustration. What are their reasons for this? Deb gets into it. ― Editor's note: Originally published June 2018 - Manga Answerman is taking the week off, but we'll be back next week with a new column. Q: Why do a lot of manga artists prefer to not have their photos taken at events, like comic or anime con...

review

7 comments

The Rising of the Shield Hero Novel 12

Sep 21, 10:22

7 comments

novel

Too many rushed plots and the continuation of the slave issue make this one of the series' weaker volumes. ― The Rising of the Shield Hero has been consistently upping the stakes for protagonist Naofumi, the eponymous Shield Hero, with mixed results. While early volumes dealt with the prejudices he faced as the Shield Hero, beloved of the demi-humans and not so much by the human population of Melroma...

feature

8 comments

Anime Spotlight - Bloom Into You

Sep 21, 07:00

8 comments

anime

"I think I could fall in love with you." ― Bloom Into You Official Website: http://yagakimi.com/ Introduction Characters Cast & Staff Gallery Premieres October 5, 2018 Key Staff Director: Makoto Kato (Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation (TV)) Series Composition: Jukki Hanada (Student Council's Discretion (TV), Steins;Gate (TV), Sound! Euphonium (TV)) Music: Michiru Oshima (Fullmetal Alchemist ...

feature

11 comments

The Best and Worst of Summer 2018, Sep 9-15

Sep 20, 14:05

11 comments

just for fun

The summer's coming to and end but there's still time for surprises! Black Clover jumps TWENTY ONE SPACES on our weekly user rankings - find out how your favorite summer anime did! ― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Summer 2018 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the seaso...

column

14 comments

This Week in Games: A Tiny Little Playstation

Sep 20, 13:05

14 comments

games

Heidi steels herself for Senran Kagura on Switch, Yu-Gi-Oh showing up in Jump Force, the resurrection of Resonance of Fate, a tiny little Playstation with 20 games from your 90s childhood, and much more! ― Hey hey folks, it's Tokyo Game Show week! Yeehaw! I wanted to supplement this week's column with a mini-review of Senran Kagura Reflexions on Switch, but, uh, I'm not sure it even really deserves t...

news

0 comments

Tokyo Game Show 2018 News & Trailer Roundup

Sep 20, 04:00

0 comments

games events

Catch up on all the news and videos from this year's biggest event for Japanese games all in one place! ― Here's our roundup of all news, trailers, and gameplay videos from Japanese developers at this year's Tokyo Game Show event. We'll be updating this article continually, so be sure to check back for content added throughout the event. Tokyo Game Show runs from September 20-23. News Thursday, Sept...

giveaway

2 comments

My Neighbor Totoro 30th Anniversary Ticket Giveaway!

Sep 17, 00:00

2 comments

anime movies giveaway

In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of this classic Studio Ghibli film, GKIDS is giving away free tickets to 5 lucky ANN readers! ― Celebrate the 30th anniversary of My Neighbor Totoro, from the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. As part of this celebration, GKIDS is giving away two tickets each to five lucky ANN reade...

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