Animétudes' new series begins! This time, I tackle one of the most important studios in anime history and get in depth into the 60s with Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production!
You can read the introduction, where I discuss my method and sources, here ⬇️⬇️
Japanese think tank Japan Research Institute released a report titled "The Current Situation and Issues of Our Country's Animation Industry"
It contains surprising proposals such as governement intervention and creating labor unions so let's get into it!
Today we celebrate Hayao Miyazaki's 80th birthday ! 🥳🥳
You may know that before he became a director, Miya-sensei was a renowned animator... So let's see what made him so good with this 1980 sequence from ep 145 of Lupin III Part II !
Today's blog article seeks to provide a new perspective on studio Ghibli: it follows its best artists as they contributed to some of the 80's most important anime during their time outside the studio ⬇️⬇️
Was randomly watching this bit from Gutsy Frog and aside from the obviously amazing animation what jumped out to me which I had never noticed before was the quality of the layouts. Most of the angles are low or high, and there's very little plain profile shots...
LRT
Today we celebrate the anniversary of Kôji Koizumi's death. A young prodigy, the star of studio Dove in the 80s, he died at 28 in a traffic accident.
The final duel between Char and Amuro in CCA, one of the masterpieces of mecha animation, is one of his last works
Btw, this is something that Miyazaki (and Takahata) started doing as early as Heidi at least. (See following tweet for an example)
It was pointed out by Yûichirô Oguro in a recent talk, and I like the "threat of activation" phrasing a lot
Today's blog article covers one of the most controversial movies in anime history: Future War 198X, which sparked an industry-wide political debate involving major artists like Yoshinori Kanada, Hayao Miyazaki and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko⬇️⬇️
There's been a very interesting interview about the anime industry, its conditions and that of directors/animators/producers/studios making the rounds of JP Twitter recently, so here's a translation/summary/commentary ⬇️⬇️
Just learnt the death of legendary animator Masami Suda
One of the "three wings of Tatsunoko", he contributed to making it an animation powerhouse in the 70's, was the master of geniuses like Takashi Nakamura, was character designer and animation director on Hokuto no Ken
RIP
I really don't get what are the booru criteria anymore. The draftsmanship of the drawings is undeniable, but these are just pans over barely moving characters
Yoshimichi Kameda is one of the most important animators of the last 15 years, and a major artist in the Kanada lineage. In today's artist spotlight, I retraced his career and some of the recent developments in Kanada style animation ⬇️
At long last, my biggest and most ambitious project, the History of the Kanada School, begins!
Here is the introduction, where I present the goals and methods, and give the general outline and release schedule!
Give it a read and share!
The inventivity of 60s anime will never stop amazing me.
This is from the pilot episode of Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae, dir. Shin'ichi Suzuki. The sound direction, live-action superimpositions, shadow theater insert, this has got it all
Today we celebrate Atom's birthday!
For this occasion, the Mushi Pro series begins in earnest: I retrace Osamu Tezuka's involvement in animation, the creation of the studio, and the production of the first TV anime, Tetsuwan Atom! ⬇️⬇️
Late on Mob I guess but -
I know that "Modern Nakamura" is controversial among certain sakuga fan circles, but his use of color and almost self-parodic, excessive approach to action embody a love for pure movement that I will never get tired of
A very important issue that you might have heard about in recent months.
We've been wanting to report on it for some time and, while this might be a bit late, we've finally done so. We hope to keep doing it in the future.
Today might be the beginning of the end not only for the anime industry but Japanese entertainment as a whole, as the new Invoice System for Japanese Consumption Tax comes into effect.
Saw the "Gundam is anti-war" take on the TL again and since I've always believed that to be an extremely poor read of it, wanted to share a few unorganized thoughts ⬇️
Since its beginning, Patlabor has been one of the most popular mecha franchises in Japan. Today, I retrace its origins and cover in detail the production of one of its best-loved entries, Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor: The Movie ⬇️⬇️
Just as Dezaki is said to favor expressive stills over fluid animation, it's easy to think that Sugino's designs are fundamentally hard to move. But everytime I see them in motion, I'm amazed by their actual plasticity.
There's the super snappy stuff...
Patlabor 2 is one of those rare works where the production processes and thematic intents perfectly reflect each other.
In today's article, I examine how the way the movie was made illuminates its overall goal and meaning ⬇️⬇️
Today is the anniversary of legendary animator Yoshinori Kanada's death.
For this special occasion, I had the opportunity to sit with his wife, Ms. Makiko Kanada, and animator Masatsune Noguchi.
You can read our talk here ⬇️⬇️
Anne of Green Gables is one of the most beloved anime of all time - and one of the hardest productions in the World Masterpiece Theater's history
@Toadette_IAD
and I explored the dark and bright sides of Isao Takahata's masterpiece in today's article ⬇️⬇️
Whenever I think of Godmars nowadays, I'm reminded of this screening of the movie I went to last year
I was one of the only guys in an audience made up mostly of women in their 50s-70s
As promised, here is THE BIG CHART of Japanese animators and their influences from the 50's to the 2000's
Some commentary in the thread below
(Pls read it before complaining that your favorites aren't there)
Rather than Yamada's feelings regarding homosexuality, this is for me the confirmation that stuff like Liz is deeply rooted in pre-war shôjo culture and the roots of what we'd call "yuri" today - ie the confirmation that my Master's thesis was right lol
Just look at this
I think that even without the context and sound you get what this sequence is about. As the original tweet said, beyond the technical tour-de-force, this is just superb cinematography
Isao Takahata's Heidi, Girl of the Alps is one of the most important animated series ever made. With
@Toadette_IAD
, we did an in-depth investigation on its production, as well as a detailed commentary on its animation, direction and historical importance⬇️
Today is the day of both Yoshinori Kanada's death and the theatrical release of the OVA Birth
For this occasion, you can read my complete, richly illustrated chronology of Kanada's most personal work, following its inception, production and aftermath ⬇️⬇️
Not 100% sure this is him. But if it is, this is Hayao Miyazaki's *first* (yes, I mean very first) sequence as key animator.
少年忍者風のフジ丸49話。これが宮崎さんの初めての原画ではないでしょうか?
Interviewer Naoko Yamada était un rêve de longue date, mais quel ne fut pas mon bonheur quand elle m'a reconnu et remercié pour la bouteille de blanc offerte il y a 2 ans au détour d'une rue à Annecy...
Une très grande dame, merci à elle et Animeland pour l'occasion 🙏🙏
[Annecy] Un grand merci à madame Naoko Yamada pour ce long échange passionnant autour de sa technique de réalisation.
À retrouver bientôt dans AnimeLand 👀
My interview with Yoshimichi Kameda is out!
This is a big one, perhaps of all the interviews I've made one of which I'm the happiest and proudest about
Mr. Kameda was so fun and interesting to hear, it's a memory I'll treasure for a long time
From Masaaki Yuasa's Inu-Oh to Hayao Miyazaki's How Do You Live?, Yoshimichi Kameda
@59033ihcimihsoy
has definitely become one of Japan's greatest animators
In our exclusive interview, he discussed the secrets of his work 👺🐦
My spoiler-free review of How Do You Live!
My thoughts on it aren't quite settled yet, so this is more of a presentation of the film and some ideas on it, but please give it a read if you want to know more!
The history of Mushi Pro is back for one more piece!
It's time to discuss the studio's final years, increasing labor tensions, Osamu Tezuka's departure and its relationship with the two last Animerama films, Cleopatra and Belladonna of Sadness ⬇️⬇️
After that, there's a discussion of Sasaki and A's "ideal anime" and very very strong criticism of "sakuga anime" and the current generation of animators/directors. This is the kind of thing you often hear from respected veterans who can afford to say it, not ppl on the frontline
In today's article, I revisit the career of one of the founders of modern anime, Akira Daikuhara, with a special focus on his work before the creation of Tôei Animation - and, in doing so, I explore 20 years of animation in Japan, from 1937 to 1958⬇️⬇️
The possibility of the anime industry collapsing has been discussed at length by today, but I think one thing that's worth considering is that, maybe, the anime industry has already collapsed once: that was between 1970 and 1973
Today's entry in the Mushi Pro series is a very dense one!
I cover subjects as diverse as the origins of otaku culture, Mushi's business & production model, how Tezuka broke down, and one of the greatest anime of all time: Jungle Taitei! ⬇️⬇️
I guess we've all more-or-less had this idea at some point that, to a larger degree than 2d, 3dcg animation "ages fast" because it would be more relying on technology or whatever
Guess what
There's all the insufferable twitter animators and "fans" who harass staff for leaks, and then there's the paternalist gaijins who think they can mansplain people with decades of experience in the industry because they've done seisaku shinkou for 6 months
One of the most amazing exhibits, a miniature from Princess Mononoke - the demon is made with 6,500 strands of wire, and the entire thing took one year and half to be made
After all the twitter animators who worked on it leaked the shit out of it, I guess the news is officially out!
Seeing Saru turn to big shonen adaptations is, ofc, an interesting turn. The post-Yuasa era is sure turning into something
👻 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 👽
"DAN DA DAN"
TV anime coming in 2024!🛸
Original Work: Yukinobu Tatsu
Director: Fuga Yamashiro
Series Composition: Hiroshi Seko
Music: kensuke ushio
Character Design: Naoyuki Onda
Creature Design: Yoshimichi Kameda
Animation Production: Science SARU
Are 1969-1970 Mushi's "second golden age"? In any case, they are the ones in which the studio produced three masterpieces: Dororo, Sabu to Ichi & Ashita no Joe
In today's article, I cover them in depth alongside the effects of the "gekiga boom" in anime ⬇️
Can't find the tweet anymore but apparently the entire Japanese entertainment industry is freaking out over How Do You Live, because once they start actually promoting it, it might become unstoppable
Today's new blog article is a special companion to
@GundamPodcast
season 4: a thorough analysis of Char's Counterattack's groundbreaking animation, in the historical context of studio Sunrise, mecha animation, realism, and anime at large ⬇️⬇️
If you’ve been following me for some time, you may be aware I’m the biggest Yoshinori Kanada fan on this website. And today’s the anniversary of his death - the best occasion to celebrate his work and share some of my favorite cuts from one of Japan’s best animators !
#金田伊助
This one is for the younger fans : those who weren't here in the early 2000's, when you could meet Bahi JD at the corner of some forum, and when blogs like Catsuka and Anipages initiated sakuga in the West !
As you may know, today is Evangelion's 25th birthday ! This calls for a celebratory sakuga analysis...
Because it's my favorite anime, gonna make not one, but TWO threads dedicated to one of the most powerful moments of the series : Rei's "death" in
#23
, by Yoh Yoshinari
The mystery behind the Saru buyout deepens as Toho revealed that the studio had actually been making tons of profit this last year
(Read: it didn't happen because of financial difficulties on Saru's part)
A bit jealous because this is a book I'd eventually have wanted to write, but glad that this is coming out.
I hope these first four chapters set up a strong foundation on the WMT
Starting a Gundam 0079 sakuga thread ! Mostly gonna try to identify Ichirô Itano cuts but that's as good an opportunity as any to share cool animation ⬇️
I especially like it when the conclusion goes "ok maybe state intervention in the economy isn't peak capitalism but we're so dead guys please inject some money"
I couldn't care less abt the "is Scott Pilgrim anime?" discourse, but I'm kinda annoyed by its absence from platforms like AniDb or even Nyaa
It's not about definitions, it's about users
Who's watching it? Who's going to want/need to check out the staff? Who are you here for?
Today, let's study the first collective masterpiece of the Kanada school, the defining anime of the 80's: Urusei Yatsura!
This is the occasion to mention many legends such as Mamoru Oshii, Masahito Yamashita, Motosuke Takahashi and many others...
Had seen a few tweets but wasn't sure, now it's official: Sadao Miyamoto passed away
A veteran active since Astro Boy (and before!), pillar of Mushi Pro, animation director on Gatchaman, one of the most important artists of 60s and 70s anime is gone
And finally, this absolutely legendary moment. I love how everything suddenly accelerates - the Gundam crouches on 2s - and then slows back down as the animation goes back to 3s
Not a huge fan of this scene in particular, but I've been trying to figure out what's special in TV anime realism of the last few years, and certainly the relationship to reference footage plays a big role
If you've been on anime or sakuga Twitter in the last few hours, you've surely seen this scene.
Frieren has kept providing some fantastic animation this season, but Myoun's dance sequence on
#15
has become a big topic. Let's get into some of what makes it special