Tag: Anime

The Anime Living in a Lonely Castle in the Mirror Gets a Release Date!

GKIDS will release Lonely Castle In The Mirror theatrically in both its original Japanese language and an all-new English dubbed version.

LONELY CASTLE IN THE MIRROR Teaser PosterGKIDS, celebrating its 15th anniversary as a producer and distributor of award-winning and artist-driven animation from around the world, announced today it will bring Lonely Castle in the Mirror, to select theatres nationwide for event showings on June 21 and 22nd only. Directed by Keiichi Hara (Miss Hokusai, Colorful, The Wonderland), the film features animation from the lauded A-1 Pictures, and is adapted from the beloved novel of the same name by Mizuki Tsujimura.

This movie held its International Premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival–marking the first time a Japanese animated feature was selected for the festival–and additionally had its US premiere at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. It was nominated for the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, and was released domestically in Japan in December 2022, grossing over one billion yen.

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Who Let the Magic Cats Out in Suzume? A Movie Review

The world Makoto Shinkai presents us with in Suzume is just as magical as his previous films, and the mythology needs to be expanded upon!

Suzume no Tojimari Japanese Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

Just what a talking cat, an equally vocal three legged chair and a young lady have in common is a crazy mystery. And in Makoto Shinkai‘s latest film, Suzume (すずめの戸締まり, full title: Suzume’s Locking Up), the investigation into this has far reaching consequences! This film’s title is also her name, and it follows familiar beats as his past works, namely Your Name and Weathering With You (movie review)

Part of this latest tale considers how she deals with PTSD in an Alice in Wonderland type tale. This young lady (voiced by Nanoka Hara) is one of the few survivors from the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and when she was a toddler, she had little comprehension about all that happened. She could not find her mom and that grief sets the tone for what’s to come. This film starts off with images of the devastation and it’s dark. Although this child gets taken in by her Aunt Tamaki (Eri Fukatsu) to become her new mom, is that enough? Although she hasn’t talked about those days with auntie, life in Kyushu seems pretty good.

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AiNA THE END is All Gundam Proud of Being Featured as the End Credits Song!

Iitani’s musical talent is now featured in Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury’s second season end credits! But to her fans, she is AiNA THE END.

‘Red-birthmark’ by AiNA THE ENDAnyone who is watching Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury will find the new ending theme ‘Red:birthmark’ by AiNA THE END very heavy metal and the single is now available to stream or view. We got the YouTube presentation listed below.

‘Red:birthmark’ is the latest single from Japanese artist AiNA THE END. It has been selected as the ending theme tune for season 2 of the hit anime series. Written and produced by TK from the band Ling tosite sigure, ‘Red:birthmark’ is a passionate rock song that combines a sharply honed sound with AiNA’s emotional singing voice. This track is not to be missed!

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When Romance Blooms, Blue Thermal Wants to Soar

Where this movie soars is with the obvious romance that’s developing between student and sempai. Blue Thermal is cute in a vintage 50s kind of way.

Blue Thermal Blu-Ray + DVD Slipcover
Available to view on Amazon Prime or to purchase.

Shout! Factory

Adapting any multi-volume manga series to a single film can be tough, and despite some narrative beats that don’t go too deep, Blue Thermal is relatively engaging. The explanation in the home video release offers insight to the changes, and overall, I didn’t mind how the lengthy tale got compressed.

Any story that involves aspiring to fly high and to achieve your dreams will always capture my interest. Although classic works like Macross Zero, Porco Rosso and Nausicaä set the bar, it’s tough to find new material that can live up to that.

Just where this film fits in is somewhere after the top five lists. I love the title song (YouTube link) and can listen to it all day! As for the tale, it’s not about what’s amazing with the sport of gliding. Instead, the movie is about headstrong Tsuru Tamaki (Mayu Hotta) wanting to fit in. This story is about her entering college life. She’s the type who dreams of white picket fences and meeting that cute boy who’ll sweep her off her feet. But being a freshman is tough at Aonagi University. After trying her hand at different clubs, she literally and accidentally lands into a sport she has no familiarity with.

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Prepare to Face NAKED PEAK-Climb the Mountains of Madness with this Animated Pitch

Fans of this upcoming adaptation of Lovecraft’s seminal Mountains of Madness redubbed Naked Peak can follow MadaraUsi’s YouTube channel for the latest info.

Naked Peak climb the mountains of madnessIt’s safe to say anime studios love H.P. Lovecraft, and to produce anything that’s truly based on are few and far between. Depending on what aspect of his lore gets explored, there’s Berserk and Paprika. To a lesser extent, there’s even the classic, Iczer 1 where the transliteration spelled out the villain as Cthulhu even though they are not related. But to have a story that is truly inspired requires Forest Limit and THINKR Col Ltd., to make a short titled Naked Peak, Climb the Mountains of Madness.

This pilot is now available on YouTube for all to view (also offered below). Although the details are lacking, I suspect it’s based on the IELLO + 6 More’s board game Mountains of Madness than the story. As much as I’d love to see this adaptation borrow from Go Tanabe’s manga (review link), it’s doubtful. This work earned the 2022 CAMPFIRE crowdfunding award after netting over 1 million dollars from 12,000 backers, and achieving 1400% funding overall.

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