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When fans get into mecha anime, they start out by coming for the giant robots. After watching a while, they start to see mecha anime can be so much more than just the robots, discussing politics and showing the indomitable will of the human spirit. Yet at the heart of it all, there's still a thrill to watching cool giant robots throwing down.

Sometimes, viewers want the cool robot fights just as much as they want the political intrigue and strong character writing. Fortunately, some of the best mecha anime know how to do both. These series can manage an awesome story while also showing off pulse-pounding action and perfectly choreographed combat to keep viewers invested all the way to the end.

Related10 Essential Mecha Anime That Changed the Genre Forever (& Aren’t Gundam)

Mobile Suit Gundam might be the biggest name in Mecha anime, but several other popular franchises...

Mappa has numerous hit titles under its belt, including Jujutsu Kaisen, Vinland Saga and even Chainsaw Man. Despite that, the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the anime studio are the infamous reports about how the production staff at Mappa are often overworked.

However, in a recent interview, Hiroya Hasegawa, Executive Vice President and producer at Mappa, acknowledged the challenges within the anime industry and the need for organizational change to support employee well-being.

Speaking to Real Sound, Hasegawa said that a lot more people are recently engaging in animation. However, when they get involved in anime production professionally, there is discrepancy between their initial perceptions and the demanding realities they faced.

Related:

‘Go Home Early, Even If Sales Drop’: How CEO Of Studio That Animated Konosuba & Urusei Yatsura Challenged Anime Industry Norms

“There are countless challenges, but this isn’t limited to just Mappa.

The animation industry is known to be hard work. From the hours to the effort put into every project, it takes a lot to survive and make it in the industry. The Vice President of Mappa, the Japanese animation studio, shares his insights on the issues that plague the industry even in 2025.

Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen. [Credit: Mappa]

Mappa has produced many popular series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Season 4 of Attack on Titan, Yuri on Ice, and many more. However, the studio is also notorious for its poor work conditions, and many of its staff went on strike demanding better.

Despite this, the Vice President, Hiroya Hasegawa, acknowledges Mappa’s shortcomings and addresses the root cause of the industry’s issues. He attributes this to the lack of education and mentorship programs to equip budding animators, along with the heavy workload burdened on them.

Hasegawa talks about how studios take on more than necessary,...

Japanese cinema has a long, rich tradition of acting excellence. From the early days of the silent era until the present, Japan has birthed some of the greatest film actors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Many of Japan's best actors have managed to transcend their native borders, obtaining stardom throughout the rest of Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Japanese actors are well-known for their versatility, shining across multiple genres, which include yakuza films, jidaigeki, samurai movies, horror, and kaiju. Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Takashi Shimura are among Japan's greatest actors, but there are many more who deserve to have their contributions to the medium acknowledged.

Updated on December 29, 2024, by Jenny Melzer: Japanese film has been equally important to the growth and definition of the industry over the last century, with numerous actors contributing their talents to some of the most memorable movies in history. As such, this...

The following contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man Chapter 187, “Barf”. It also discusses sensitive topics, including violence.

Chainsaw Man has never been a series that shied away from controversy. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hit manga has repeatedly made waves across the anime fandom due to his willingness to push the envelope of what’s expected and accepted from a shōnen series. From blood and guts to sexual themes and explicit language, Chainsaw Man cuts through all the taboo barriers to get at the heart of its all-too-human characters. Meanwhile, Chainsaw Man Chapter 187, “Barf!," goes a step further by highlighting what is truly disgusting about humanity, and it’s enough to make anyone vomit.

Previously, Chapter 186, “Yank, Blorsh, Bdroom," saw the epic battle between Pochita and the Aging Devil finally getting underway. It was one of the bloodiest scenes in all of Chainsaw Man Part 2, as Denji devoured the innards of the living...

The First Take is a YouTube channel that tasks musicians and singers with performing songs in a single take. It launched in November 2019, releasing over 440 performance videos to date. As reported , voice actor Ikumi Hasegawa performed "Guitar to Kodoku to Aoi Hoshi" , an insert song for the TV anime Bocchi The Rock! in the 442nd episode posted on YouTube on June 7. Hasegawa voices Ikuyo Kita, one of the main characters, who is the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Kessoku Band in the show. Hasegawa has retuned in the channel's latest 445th episode to perform "Tsuki nami ni Kagayake" ( Shine as Usual ), the opening theme for the first of the two-part recap film of the TV series, Bocchi The Rock! Re: . It is unusual for the channel to have the same singer perform a second time in such a short period of time. Related : Bocchi The Rock! Kessoku Band Vocalist...

During recent years, an effort in the Japanese movie industry to come up with action movies of quality have become quite intense, with films like “Baby Assassin” and “The Fable” being some of the most notable. Isao Yukisada attempts his hand in probably the entry with the biggest budget in the category, with “Revolver Lily” also implementing the current favorite of ‘girls-with-guns' trope.

Revolver Lily is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The story is based on the homonymous novel by Kyo Nagaura, and takes place in 1924. Yuri, an ex-assassin who seems to have carried out 57 assassinations in the past, has now gone underground and runs a small bar in Tokyo. While there, she stumbles upon Shinta, an orphan whose family has been murdered, and his father has employed him to find her, just before he died. The teenage boy seems to hold the key to a large sum of...

The First Take is a YouTube channel that tasks musicians and singers with performing songs in a single take. It launched in November 2019, releasing over 440 performance videos to date. In its latest 442nd episode , voice actor Ikumi Hasegawa performed "Guitar to Kodoku to Aoi Hoshi" , an insert song for the TV anime Bocchi The Rock! Hasegawa voices Ikuyo Kita, one of the main characters, who is the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Kessoku Band in the show. The song was originally featured in the anime's fifth and eighth episodes. "To be honest, I wasn't too nervous until right before the performance started," said Hasegawa. "As I began to sing, I felt more and more excited, and at the same time, my nervousness increased. There was a scene that I sang this song in a state of tension and anxiety in Bocchi The Rock! episode 8. This reminded me a lot of that recording.

There are plenty of anime about cute girls doing cute hobbies but guys can be cute and do cute things too. Anime about cute boys doing cute things is all about an easy-going, tranquil and stress-free atmosphere. Either it’s running a cute cafe and bantering with a barista, talking about shared interests, collecting cute characters, looking after little kids or being clumsy and awkward — it’s all cute and sweet. It’s like covering yourself in a blanket with a content smile. Play It Cool, Guys Of course, this article wouldn’t be about cute guys doing cute things if I hadn’t started with Play It Cool, Guys , which is the epitome of cuteness, slice-of-life and comedy. Originally a full-colored web manga by Kokone Nata that has been serialized since 2019 on Pixiv, Play It Cool, Guys depicts the clumsy days of four different guys in modern Japan. Embarrassment,...

Time loops are a fascinating concept, as stories can handle them in many unique ways, with each way of handling the loop giving the plot a vastly different feel. A story can be like Groundhog Day, where the character goes through the same period many times throughout the story. Other stories only show the viewer a single loop, not revealing it is a loop at the very end of the tale. Some stories have the characters go through many smaller loops, dramatically changing how events around them play out every time.

Anime is no exception, as the medium has produced many excellent time loop tales over the years, and each of them handles its time loops differently and has used them to make different points, making each one a unique experience. There is a time loop anime to suit every taste.

Related The Best Romance Anime to Watch Right Now Between Crunchyroll,...

Films about the movie industry have been abundantly presented recently in Japanese cinema. Tokuhiro Yasukawa, in his feature debut, comes up with his own take, which strays away, though, from the norm, due to its intense experimentation that actually has the actors repeating the same lines from a play throughout the movie.

“Maybe Woohoo” is screening at InlanDimensions

The whole endeavor takes place within 24 hours, which is actually how much it took for the film to be shot. Emi lives in a rural town and aims to become an actress. In order to train for an upcoming audition in Tokyo, she is working with Hasegawa, who was in the same drama club when they were in high school, and Satsuki, her closest friend. However, Hasegawa, who has had brief romantic relations with both, when he listens to them talking about him, runs away. Emi decides to call the rest of...

One of the winners of this year's Skip City International D-Cinema Festival is Kazuomi Makita's “Hierophanie”, an intimate drama about grief and the feeling of helplessness as we watch people's lives crumble. The director has been invited to the festival several times, with his short features “Point of the Love”, “Time Will Tell” and “The Birth”, making “Hierophanie” his first long feature. While many of the themes his movie deals with are more or less stables within the Japanese indie community, there is something quite special about his approach in terms of storytelling and visuals which makes “Hierophanie” stand out.

Hierophanie is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival

After the suicide of her daughter, Shiori (Kayo Ise) quits her job as a therapist to work as a counselor at the local library. However, helping others dealing with their problems and trying to find solutions for them does not help her,...

Alexa Demie offers a rare share to social media as part of the new Balenciaga campaign. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Izumi Hasegawa/HollywoodNewsWire

Euphoria star Alexa Demie is fabulous in fur as she makes a rare social media post.

Although she was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, the famous actress values her privacy, and this is clear with her lack of social media posts.

Fans were in for a treat today because Alexa shared two photos from a Balenciaga shoot and campaign that she starred in recently.

Alexa looks sophisticated in an expensive fur with a fresh face and slicked back hair. She wore black Balenciaga boots and carried a purse by the brand with an attached wallet.

She looked down at the camera and stood amid arid grounds in a desert-like atmosphere. The reason for the desert-theme was because photographer Daniel Roché centered the latest campaign around climate change.

Ashley Tisdale stuns on the red carpet. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Izumi Hasegawa/Hollywood Newswire

High School Musical star Ashley Tisdale knows a thing or two about balance. The star posted a picture that showcased her sculpted abs and her love of pizza.

The actress wore black and white patterned pants with a matching top. She left the collared shirt unbuttoned, and the black tube top she wore underneath showed off her fit figure.

Ashley smiled as she bit into a slice of pizza.

She wore her brown hair in loose waves, and her minimal makeup showed her summer glow. Her tan only emphasized her toned midriff.

The second photo showed the star in a meditative pose with her legs crossed and palms facing up. Both images showed off the actress’s collection of minimalist tattoos.

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A post shared by Ashley Tisdale (@ashleytisdale)

Tisdale’s TikTok blows up.

Kristin Cavallari poses next to Stephen Colletti for their podcast promo. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Izumi Hasegawa/HollywoodNewsWire

Kristin Cavallari is finally opening up to her fans — both with her shirt and on her latest podcast episode.

The Laguna Beach alum, 35, has been keeping herself busy since her time in the spotlight as an MTV reality star in the early 2000s.

Along with running her own jewelry and beauty brands, Kristin also recently started her new Back to the Beach podcast with her co-host Stephen Colletti.

While starring on Laguna Beach, Kristin and Stephen were involved in an on-camera love triangle with fellow blonde bombshell Lauren Conrad. The series ultimately propelled the network to host numerous succeeding reality shows, including The Hills.

On July 10, Kristin announced her and Stephen’s new podcast with an Instagram video teaser captioned, “Back to the Beach with Kristin & Stephen 7/19/22.”

On Tuesday, the Very Cavallari...

Nicolas Cage shows off bold red hair in Las Vegas grocery store. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Izumi Hasegawa/Hollywood Newswire

Nicolas Cage rocked shocking, bright red hair while grocery shopping over the weekend in Las Vegas. With this eccentric new look, the National Treasure actor fit right into the wild city of Las Vegas.

The bright red hair, with a pinkish hue, stood atop Cage’s head in an adorably messy manner. The bold nature of the hair color had a nice contrast to the actor’s dark sunglasses and the serious face he wore for the photo.

Cage was overdressed for a grocery store run, wearing a long sleeve white dress shirt with a black coat, which made the unconventional hair stand out even more. The black coat featured small, white dots, and the white dress shirt was tucked neatly into his black dress pants.

Before his hair reveal,...

Harry Styles defends himself against accusations in regards to his personal style. Pic credit: ©ImageCollect.com/Izumi Hasegawa/HollywoodNewsWire

While Harry Styles may have style, he recently cleared up accusations about using his clothing as a way of “queerbaiting.”

The 28-year-old singer, who first grew a massive fanbase as a member of the boy band One Direction, has had an incredibly successful career as a solo artist over the past few years.

Aside from his Grammy-winning hits, Harry has also been notably recognized for his unique sense of fashion and for breaking the style norms as a “straight male” in the music industry — similarly to singer David Bowie.

However, some fans and critics have called him out for using a queer aesthetic as a way to profit without necessarily identifying as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

In Harry’s recent feature in Rolling Stone, the Watermelon Sugar star was...