In celebration of the release of Makoto Shinkai's latest film, Weathering With You, we're counting down our favorite works from him - and don't forget to vote in the poll! ― Over the last 20 years, if there's one anime director people have heard of (who isn't named Hayao Miyazaki – it's probably Makoto Shinkai, the director of what is still the highest grossing animated film of all time in Japan, br...

feature

4 comments

Carole & Tuesday: A Song of Refugees and Fire

Jan 24, 13:00

4 comments

anime

Director Shinichiro Watanabe's passionate musical series shines a spotlight on Earth's real humanitarian crisis and hopes for something better. ― Carole & Tuesday has some good music, but good music isn't made in a vacuum. Music is created by musicians, and whether they're strumming guitar strings, singing mezzo-soprano, or scribbling notes on staves, aspects of musicians' lives end up bleeding into ...

review

3 comments

The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga

Jan 24, 12:00

3 comments

manga

Who was Luke Skywalker? This new manga anthology explores the question in great detail, with gorgeous art and storytelling. ― So – listen. My name is Zac Bertschy, and throughout my life there have been three constants: anime, manga and Star Wars. I am an enormous lifelong fan of everyone's favorite completely oversaturated and inescapable sci-fi media franchise, created by George Lucas back in the l...

column

7 comments

This Week in Anime - What is Going on in OBSOLETE?

Jan 23, 14:00

7 comments

anime

Steve and Micchy try to make sense of Gen Urobuchi's latest series about the commodification of war. ― The aliens might not be interested in politics but that won't stop Earthlings from finding new uses for their recently obtained technology. The first half of acclaimed writer Gen Urobuchi's 3DCG YouTube series is available on YouTube now and it wouldn't be a Booch affair without death and commisera...

column

7 comments

This Week in Games - The Dregs of Dragon Ball

Jan 23, 13:00

7 comments

games

Heidi plows through this week's Sonic news before delving in to the absolute worst Dragon Ball games of all time! ― Howdy! It's a new week, and we're gonna talk about games, dangit! Well, uh… honestly, there isn't too much news. I mean, yeah, there are a few noteworthy news bits, but I don't have much in the way of commentary to add to them. So, we're going to do a little something fun after the news...

review

1 comment

Which Hana? GN 1

Jan 23, 12:09

1 comment

manga

"Which Hana isn't anything particularly special, but it does offer its own distinct twists on the body-swap romance story we've seen before." ― Mizue Odawara is one of a handful of shoujo authors never before published in English who is getting a double digital release. Which Hana and A Devotion that Changes Worlds have both been licensed and translated by Futabasha, much in the same way that Chieko ...

feature

13 comments

The Curious Case of Sally Amaki, the Bilingual Idol

Jan 22, 13:12

13 comments

music

The fascinating story - and social implications - of English-speaking, Los Angeles-born 22/7 idol Sally Amaki is explored by our own Kim Morrissy. ― The Japanese idol scene exploded in the last decade, thanks to the success of popular groups like AKB48 and Nogizaka46. In the last few years, the trend has accelerated even further thanks to Virtual YouTubers. With motion capture technology and the inte...

review

9 comments

Downfall

Jan 22, 12:37

9 comments

manga

Downfall isn't an easy book. It's not something you pick up to read for pleasure - but if you're looking for a different take on industry manga, this is worth picking up. ― There's always something about Inio Asano's manga that feels like it might be personal. Whether that's true or not, it certainly speaks to one reason why his works are so popular and well-regarded – many readers like to feel like ...

Kingdom (TV 3)

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