Japan 433
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
By Andrew Osmond. One of the virtues of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is that it’s a franchise film that doesn’t ask you to know anything about the franchise. You can enjoy the film as a one-off weird tale, a spaghetti Hammer which transposes vampires and their hunter nemeses into a fantasy Wild West, millennia into […]
Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry
By Andrew Osmond. Naughty anime transformation scenes… Good, that’s got your attention. If you saw Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry, you might have noticed a fine specimen of the type, when the cat character Carla takes human form. However, this clothes-changing fan service caused problems, as revealed by Dragon Cry director Tatsuma Mianamikawa and producer Yohei […]
Lupin the 3rd: Part IV
By Andrew Osmond. Some pop-culture heroes only live twice. Others survive through endless reboots, re-imaginings and re-brandings, until they’re barely recognisable if you knew the originals. Japan’s Lupin the Third is different. He’s been in anime nearly fifty years, and yet you could show the new Lupin TV series, being released by Anime Limited, to […]
Persona 3.3: Classic Inspirations
By Mitchell Lineham. Persona 3 Movie #3: Falling Down is the penultimate chapter to the Persona 3 movies, and it focuses on different character arcs as the story ramps up to its climax. Makoto Yuki, Ryoji Mochizuki, Mitsuru Kirijo and Yukari Takeba share deep ties that link deeply with their classics-inspired Persona, and it’s reflected […]
Books: From Truant to Anime
By Jonathan Clements. Mari Okada’s memoir of two decades in the anime business begins and ends with the disastrous premiere screening of Anthem of the Heart in her hometown of Chichibu – a huge event in the middle of nowhere, inconvenient for all attendees, with a film that stops playing halfway. As the screenwriter, she […]