My knowledge of the late Japanese animation director’s work dates to 1996, when his critically acclaimed animated film Grave of the Fireflies (1988) was first screened publicly in Singapore at the first Singapore Animation Fiesta, of which I was the…
The purpose – but at the same time the problem – of genre classification is to instill ‘purity’ and order through categorization. Genre categories have defied easy definition as the borders intended to separate them are always shifting and expanding,…
Few films have made as deep an impact on international popular cultures as Akira (1988) by Katsuhiro Ötomo. This animated feature is a sci-fi apocalyptic opus, deeply political and incisive in how it captures the Japan of the bubble-economy era.…
The original series of Hideaki Anno’s hugely popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996) was set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event called ‘the second impact’. The show was structured around teenage protagonists piloting gargantuan mecha-organic bipeds (EVAs) in order…
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema…
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema came together…
Yuri!!! on Ice is a 2016 anime that has captured a global audience through its beautifully choreographed animation, a strong emotional story, and compelling gay representation. Animation Studies 2.0 blog contributors Jacqueline Ristola, Mihaela Mihailova, Caitlin Casiello, and Evelyn Hielkema came together…
The work of anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara is not only known for being deeply symbolic, but also for having outstanding representations of lesbians in anime. This is significant because LGBT visibility is quite low in Japan. Gay marriage, for instance,…
