All Posts: Page 9
February 13, 2024 · 0 comments
Harmonie
By Zoe Crombie. A shy boy admires a popular girl in his class, a safe distance away from her macho ‘boyfriend’ and judgemental peers, hoping that she may just be different from the others. This isn’t an uncommon set up for an anime, particularly one set in a high school, but Harmonie takes an intriguing […]
February 10, 2024 · 1 comment
Granbelm
By Zoe Crombie. Have you ever wondered what an anime series that combines the cute slice-of-life antics of magical girls with the spectacular action of giant mechs would look like? If so, then wonder no longer – Granbelm is the series for you, combining these evergreen anime subgenres with a surprising degree of success. Centred […]
February 7, 2024 · 0 comments
Hula Fulla Dance
By Jonathan Clements. Unsure of what direction to take in life, high-school graduate Hiwa Natsunagi (Haruka Fukuhara) decides to become a professional hula dancer, like her late sister Mari. But she soon begins to wonder if hula dancing is the thing for her, when she proves to be the clumsiest, least hula-competent girl in her […]
February 4, 2024 · 0 comments
Ascendance of a Bookworm
By Andrew Osmond. Like many fantasy protagonists, the young heroine of Ascendance of a Bookworm is on a desperate mission. But it doesn’t involve melting a ring, slaying a dragon, or facing an invading army. No, her mission is suggested by the title; it’s to read a book in a world where books are as […]
February 1, 2024 · 0 comments
Shirobako
By Andrew Osmond. Shirobako opens… misleadingly, actually. Its first minutes show an animation high-school club where five close-knit girls are making their own anime mini-epic. Once that’s been done, they promise each other, they’ll join up again to make something else. And then… the story skips forward two and a half years. Two of the […]
January 29, 2024 · 0 comments
Blue Giant: Yuzuru Tachikawa Interview
By Andrew Osmond. The film Blue Giant opens in UK cinemas this Wednesday. It’s a music drama about the fortunes of three teen boys in Tokyo – sax player prodigy Dai, haughty pianist Yukinori, and greenhorn drummer Tamada – trying to make it as a jazz trio. You can read more about Blue Giant’s story […]