July 3, 2018 · 0 comments

By Andrew Osmond. First, this translated spin-off book is not a sequel to Makoto Shinkai’s blockbuster Your Name. Rather it’s an “alternative” retelling of parts of the story, complementing the straight novelisation, which we’ve reviewed elsewhere. Another Side: Earthbound presumes you’ve seen the film, as it leaves out large parts of its plot. The book’s […]

June 30, 2018 · 0 comments

By Hugh David. In the near future, the biggest sporting phenomenon in Japan and a hit on Japanese TV is the fighting ‘electronic doll’ game Angelic Layer. The ‘Angels’ are remote-controlled android dolls, while the ‘Layer’ is the combat arena. Twelve-year-old Misaki Suzuhara moves to stay with her aunt in Tokyo, but stumbles across a […]

June 27, 2018 · 0 comments

By Motoko Tamamuro. There are plenty of books written about Studio Ghibli, although it is difficult to tell how well they sell. Hayao Miyazaki’s collected writings seem to do well enough for Viz Media, but producer Toshio Suzuki’s memoirs only limped out from a small, expensive academic press. Perhaps these diminishing returns explain why Stephen […]

June 25, 2018 · 0 comments

It’s the start of a new week and that means there’s a new release to add to your anime collection! It’s a stacked week for new titles as well! So sit back, relax, grab a coffee and read on below for details. Here’s quick Summary of new releases highlighted in this post: Re:ZERO -Starting Life […]

June 24, 2018 · 0 comments

By Hugh David. In a possible near future, humanity has achieved the ability to upload human consciousness into VR environments. Within those environments, however, all sorts of scenarios, good and bad, can play out, sometimes at risk to the body left in the real world. On hearing this description, where a certain generation of anime […]

June 21, 2018 · 1 comment

By Andrew Osmond. If you’ve wondered about the artists who created the incredible backgrounds for Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name, then meet Mateusz Urbanowicz. The Polish-born artist painted more than 120 backgrounds for Shinkai’s blockbuster (examples). He also contributed almost a hundred others to The Case of Hana and Alice (examples) and worked on an episode […]