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The anime industry might have some of the most creative animation styles to grace our screens, but they aren’t immune to changes in their production team. Whether it’s a change in director or a new studio, it’s bound to happen to most anime.

Bocchi the Rock! is one of many to face this drastic change in their team. Keiichiro Saito directed the first season with Yusuke Yamamoto as his assistant director. For Season 2, however, Saito has stepped down and passed the mantle to his assistant.

Bocchi the Rock! [Credit: CloverWorks]

The news of Yusuke Yamamoto’s takeover wasn’t entirely a surprise, considering what else Saito had on his plate. He is also the director for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, so many speculated he favored the fantasy anime over Bocchi the Rock! What really happened behind the scenes?

Keiichiro Saito shuts down rumors about why he stepped down from Bocchi the Rock!

Musical anime are a dime a dozen, with most of them not making it to the top ranks. However, Bocchi the Rock! took over the anime community despite its standard slice-of-life approach. After Season 1 of the anime blew up, fans began hoping for a second season.

Director Keiichiro Saito will be replaced in season 2 of Bocchi the Rock! | Credits: CloverWorks

Thankfully, Season 2 has finally been greenlit, with the response from fans varying from overjoyed to mildly skeptical. Well, the skepticism is about to rise even higher because the director of the anime has vacated his position for the upcoming season.

Bocchi the Rock!‘s director will take a viewer’s seat for season 2 The director of Bocchi the Rock! has stated his unwillingness to be a part of Season 2 | Credits: CloverWorks

Season 1 of Bocchi the Rock! was animated by CloverWorks with Keiichiro Saito as the director. The anime became a...

Keiichiro Saito, the director of Bocchi the Rock! season 1, has revealed the reasons behind his decision to step down for the anime’s second season.

Speaking during the special Bocchi the Radio! edition released after the Kessoku Band Tour “We will B” live event, Saito explained that he felt the pressure of meeting fan expectations.

Saito stated that he had no plans for a sequel while directing season 1 and felt that season 2 required a stronger focus on music and performances, something he believed was best handled by someone else.

He felt Bocchi the Rock! season 2 was a big challenge and admitted that simply trying to replicate season 1’s success could lead to disappointment.

While he was excited by the opportunity, he also recognized the toll the production had taken on the staff and realized that simply repeating the same production model wouldn’t work.

He also emphasized that his decision...

Oshi no Ko has released 14 brand-new illustrations to mark Nov. 4 "li Oshi no Hi" day -- an annual celebration of the franchise that first began in 2019.

Per Anime News Network, Oshi no Ko released the official creators' illustrations via a press release. As fans eagerly await the highly anticipated second season of the series, li Oshi no Hi day offers them a chance to honor their favorite characters as celebrated through all-new character visuals.

Oshi no Ko's Interlude Shows What Aqua and Ruby Could Have Been

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Oshi no Ko's director Daisuke Hiramaki, assistant director Chao Nekotomi, character designers Kanna Hirayama and Shun Sawai, and chief animation directors Tomoya Atsumi and Miki Matsumoto are some of the creators behind the new drawings. Others animators include Takeshi Osame, Kenji Sawada, Asami Hayakawa, Honoka Yokoyama, Kimiaki Mizuno and Ayaka Muroga. Yūsuke Yamamoto, the anime's opening sequence director and Naoya Nakayama,...

Cinema Today is reporting that some screenings of the hugely successful horror film Sadako 3D will soon be adding a whole new dimension to the movie-going experience which Kadokawa is calling “4D”.

Last September, several theaters in Japan screened Robert Rodriguez’s “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D” with a few additional “4Dx” features such as specific smells wafting through the theater or vibrations at certain points during the movie. However, Sadako 4D will apparently take things to a whole new level.

In keeping with the suspense/horror theme, moviegoers will have their legs grabbed, large clouds of white smoke will be pumped into the theater, and seats will even be fitted with velcro to bind people’s arms. Also, the theater will suddenly be invaded by a horde of real-life Sadakos who will come out of a large well.

“Sadako 3D” stars Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto,...

The terrifying Asian spook Sadako Yamamura is preparing just where she'll be unleashed to this year. J-horror 'Sadako 3D', the anticipated follow-up to the 'Ring' series, will next be ripping right out the screens across Korea when the Tsutomu Hanabusa directed sequel gets released into Korean theatres from 14 June. To coincide with the announcement a new poster and teaser trailer has also been revealed which you can check out below. 'Sadako 3D' stars Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto, Yusuke Yamamoto, Shota Sometani, Tsutomu Takahashi, Hikari Takara and Ryosei Tayama....

Starring Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto and Yusuke Yamamoto, Sadako 3D is yet another sequel the the classic J-horror film Ringu (The Ring) this time directed by Tsutomu Hanabusa (High School Debut) and, given the title, shot in 3D. Sadako 3D is scheduled for a May 12th release in Japan.

At a high school where Akana Aikawa works as a teacher, a rumor exists of a video. The video is purported to show someone committing suicide. Then Akane Aikawa’s student Noriko kills herself. During that time, more suspicious deaths occur one after another. The police concludes that the deaths are suicides. What the police miss is that a key element exists in all of the students’ deaths. All of them watched a video before they died. Akane Aikawa now holds the key to the revival of Sadako and must defeat her once and for all…...

Following on from the early teaser trailer that went out back in February a brand new full trailer has emerged for 'Ringu' horror follow-up 'Sadako 3D'. Tsutomu Hanabusa's new 3D installment is the latest tale in the franchise of J-horror 'Ringu' flicks and will be based on new novel 'S' (Esu) by the series' original creator Koji Suzuki. It's due to hit Japanese theatres from 12 May and hopefully an international release will soon follow. Satomi Ishihara (below), Koji Seto, Yusuke Yamamoto, Shota Sometani, Tsutomu Takahashi, Hikari Takara and Ryosei Tayama all star in the new story of Sadako Yamamura who'll most likely be aiming for some three-dimensional chills as she will no doubt be physically exiting TV and cinema screens near you soon. Check out the new trailer below....

The official website for Tsutomu Hanabusa’s Sadako 3D has been updated with a a new trailer.

The movie is a continuation of the blockbuster Ring franchise, which is based on a series of popular horror novels by Koji Suzuki. Director Hideo Nakata adapted the first novel in 1998, helping to spark a J-horror “boom” (okay, bubble) that dramatically boosted interest in Asian horror movies all over the world for a few years afterward. In 2002, Gore Verbinski directed a Hollywood adaptation that brought the story further into the mainstream.

Of course, being that it’s been over 14 years since the first movie, a few details had to change with the times. VHS is long-dead, so—like everything else—Sadako’s curse has been digitized and uploaded to the internet. Also, making it 3D is almost definitely all about recreating the iconic scene with Sadako slowly crawling out of a screen toward the viewer.

For those who love scary young girls whom unexpectedly emanate from their TV boxes are going to have to be pleased with Tsutomu Hanabusa's new 3D feature 'Sadako 3D'. No, not a multi-dimensional version of the classic Japanese number puzzle this is simply the latest in the line of J-horror 'Ringu' flicks that sees the disturbing Sadako Yamamura return for more television terror in this new 3D horror flick. And now the first teaser trailer has arrived to send shivers down your spine. The new installment stars Satomi Ishihara (below), Koji Seto, Yusuke Yamamoto, Shota Sometani, Tsutomu Takahashi, Hikari Takara and Ryosei Tayama. If you haven't yet caught any of its predecessors then I'd suggest you get cracking by kicking off with the Hideo Nakata directed 'Ring' ('Ringu') released back in 1998 which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese author Koji Suzuki.

Am I currently in the market for another movie set within Koji Suzuki’s creepy little universe, a world where peculiar VHS video art can spell certain doom for those who watch it? Oddly enough, I am. However, I’m not entirely sure where Tsutomu Hanabusa’s upcoming “Sadako 3D” is headed. The person you see above is the film’s green-eyed villain, one Kiyoshi Kashiwada, portrayed by Japanese heartthrob Yusuke Yamamoto. His mission: Resurrect Sadako by any means necessary. It will be interesting to see which direction this one’s headed. Colorf me chin-scratchingly intrigued. Here’s a handy synopsis from Asian Media Wiki: At a high school where Akana Aikawa works as a teacher, a rumor exists of a video. The video is purported to show someone committing suicide. Then Akane Aikawa’s student Noriko kills herself. During that time, more suspicious deaths occur one after another. The...