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The international success of the manga industry has raised some very important questions regarding the content that is being portrayed in the anime and manga series. However, the most important question is whether the Western influence on the manga community is affecting its core essence or not.

Vinland Saga | Mappa Studios

This question was answered by Akira Kanai, the current Editor-in-Chief of Kodansha’s Weekly Afternoon manga magazine. Kanai has worked on many important projects, like Ajin: Demi-Human, Fragile, Vinland Saga, etc. He is a big name in the industry, and his extraordinary work as an editor speaks for itself.

According to Kanai, he does not let Western influence take away anime and manga’s core essence, as he is not easily influenced by the particular scenarios of Western countries and rather focuses on what feels intriguing on a global level. Thus keeping the roots the same with different...

Manga relies heavily on visually appealing artwork to capture readers' attention and appreciation. The top-ranked manga series are known for their stunning and captivating artwork. Each manga mentioned in the article showcases unique and impressive art styles that enhance the storytelling experience.

From breathtaking landscapes to intricately designed characters, manga is a canvas where talented artists bring their visions to life. Some manga will be forever remembered simply for their breathtaking art styles. It's safe to say that no matter how good the plot is, no one will care about a manga series if the art isn't appealing in one way or another.

Trailblazers like Takehiko Inoue and Tsutomu Nihei are famous for their captivating art, although they are fantastic writers too. One of the most important aspects of a successful manga is how appealing the panels are, and it is easy to observe that every manga in the top ranking is visually appealing.

Polygon Pictures has released a new trailer for Goro Taniguchi's upcoming CG anime film Bloody Escape.

Taniguchi, the acclaimed director of One Piece Film: Red and Code Geass, is credited for the film's concept, which is not based on any existing property. Featured on Bloody Escape's official website, the film's latest promo highlights its protagonist, Kisaragi, who goes head-to-head against both vampires and yakuza members in the story. The site also reveals a new key visual along with additional cast and staff members. Bloody Escape will begin its theatrical run in Japan on Jan. 5, 2024.

FBI Recognizes Fans as "Intelligent, Forward-Thinking, Creative Community" at Anime NYC

Set in Tokyo, Japan, Bloody Escape chronicles the journey of Kisaragi, a human who undergoes genetic modification, equipping his body with lethal weaponry. During his flight, Kisaragi kills one of the yakuza leaders, making him a high-priority target of the organization. A vampire group...

Stars: Sôsuke Ikematsu, Shin’ya Tsukamoto, Minami Hamabe, Mirai Moriyama, Tasuku Emoto, Nanase Nishino | Written and Directed by Hideaki Anno

The third entry in the Shin Japan Heroes Universe, Shin Kamen Rider, steps away from the kaiju-oriented plots of Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman to let writer/director Hideaki Anno, the driving force behind the Shin project, reboot a character that dates back to 1971 and who has, over the years appeared in various incarnations spanning live action, anime, and manga forms.

Takeshi Hongo was a socially inept college student who only cared about his motorcycle until he was kidnapped by S.H.O.C.K.E.R., Sustainable Happiness Organization with Computational Knowledge Embedded Remodeling, and experimented on by Professor Midorikawa, played appropriately enough by Shin’ya Tsukamoto, the director of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and its sequels.

He fused Hongo’s DNA with that of a grasshopper giving him incredible strength,...

Polygon Pictures has partnered with Marvel Studios to produce Spider-Man: Freshman Year, an animated series set in the Spider-Man universe.

According to a tweet from Culture Crave, Polygon Pictures, a renowned Japanese animation studio, has announced its collaboration with Marvel Studios on a new animated series in the Spider-Man franchise titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Details about the series remain under wraps.

Related: Marvel Exec Reveals Spider-Man: Freshman Year's Place in the MCU

Anime studio Polygon Pictures is producing #SpiderManFreshmanYear...

Writing paranormal stories set in the modern world can be difficult, as modern technology renders many of the genre's hallmarks obsolete, but that doesn't mean that fantastic modern supernatural manga doesn't exist. And one frequently overlooked dark fantasy series combined the supernatural and the modern world to tell a highly memorable story that put a unique twist on several genre hallmarks.

Ajin: Demi-Human made its debut in 2012, running in Good! Afternoon magazine until 2021. The first volume was illustrated by Gamon Sakurai and written by Tsuina Miura, the writer behind High-Rise Invasion. However, Miura left the project after the first volume, leaving Gamon Sakurai as the illustrator and writer for the rest of the story. The manga did prove popular enough to get an anime adaptation, though it should be noted that this adaptation deviated heavily from the manga's storyline, meaning it is a very different experience.

Related: Why The Death Note...

Since its inception in the early 1960s, Japanese animation has come a long way, paving the way for an abundance of grand narratives such as Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball, and many more that we can't count on our fingers. While it used to mainly focus on action, fantasy, and romance genres even in the 2000s, we've moved past that point with plenty of other releases, particularly horror.

While series such as Gantz, Another, Higurashi: When They Cry, and Ajin have depicted horror in a variety of ways, whether through violence or psychological terror, the upcoming Uzumaki anime may leave the majority of them in the dust. The series, based on a popular manga, revolves around a high school girl named Kirie Goshima and the residents of her small town of Kurouzu-cho, which is plagued by a mystical entity involving spirals.

Fans of the manga have long awaited the adaptation,...

Japan has chosen “Weathering With You” (Tenki no Ko), by record breaking director Makoto Shinkai as national entry for the Best International Feature Film Category at the 2020 Oscars.

“Weathering With You” – that has just reached the $100 million (10.7 billion yen) mark at the domestic box office – is the first anime, since ‘Princess Mononoke’ by Hayao Miyazaki in 1998, to be designated to represent Japan at the Academy Awards.

The two protagonists are voiced by Kotaro Daigo (Hodaka) e da Nana Mori (Hina), and the theme-song “Ai ni Deikiru Koto wa Mada Aru Kai” is composed by popular j-rock band Radwimps that had greatly contributed to the success of “Your Name”.

Other members of the crew include Masayoshi Tanaka (“Your Name”) in charge of the character design, Atsushi Tamura head of animation, and artistic director Hiroshi Takiguchi (“The Garden of Words”, “Ajin”).

Synopsis

Hodaka Morishima runs away from his remote island to Tokyo,...

“Weathering With You” (Tenki no Ko) is a fable about friensdhip and climate, written and diected by acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai (“Your Name”. “The Garden of Words”, “Journey to Aghartha”, “5 Centimeters per Second”)

Produced by CoMix Wave (same studio behind “Your Name” and “Flavors of Youth”) the film premiered in Japanese Cinemas on the 19th of July and it’s already a huge hit.

The two protagonists are voiced by Kotaro Daigo (Hodaka) e da Nana Mori (Hina), and the them song “Ai ni Deikiru Koto wa Mada Aru Kai” is composed by popular j-rock band Radwimps that had greatly contributed to the success of “Your Name”.

Other members of the crew include Masayoshi Tanaka (“Your Name”) in charge of the character design, Atsushi Tamura head of animation, and artistic director Hiroshi Takiguchi (“The Garden of Words”, “Ajin”).

Considering the well-known passion and ability for weather rapresentation that director...

Not too long ago, we got our first taste of the upcoming anime Godzilla: Monster Planet in a teaser. The teaser was…underwhelming to say the least. It showed us very little of what to expect, and frankly, I don’t care for the CG visual effects they’re going for in the flick itself.

Of course, you could only judge so much of a film on a 30-second teaser, and I was more than willing to give the film another chance to wow me. Toho recently put out a new one minute and 15 second trailer, and while it didn’t quite wow me, it was a step up from the first one. Admittedly, I’m still no thrilled with the animation style we settled on, and I can’t speak Japanese to save my life, but I do feel like this one shows more of the dark and immense atmosphere of the film.

Godzilla is having something of a resurgence in the mainstream. In the past couple years, there have been a couple live-action films — one from America, and one from Japan. Additionally, we have a sequel on the way to Gareth Edwards’ version, as well as a new animated film from Toho Animation. Today, we’re here to take a look at what the animated film, Godzilla: Monster Planet has to offer.

The film come from the mind of famous screenwriter Gen Urobuchi, who anime fans will recognize as the scribe behind such hits as Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Expelled From Paradise, and Psycho-Pass. The writer is well known for going big with his ideas. He hits big, but also tends to miss big as well.

Taking the helm are Hiroyuki Seshita and Kobun Shizuno. The former director is perhaps a bit more notable due to his involvement in the...

Toho has released the first trailer for their Godzilla: Monster Planet anime film and it looks pretty freakin' awesome! This first trailer gives us a great tease of what this movie will entail and it's very different from anything we've ever seen from the Godzilla franchise! The story is set 20,000 years in the future and the planet Earth is ruled by Godzilla and other kaiju monsters and the humans want to take it back!

This film will be Toho's 30th Godzilla movie and I can't wait to see it! Here's the detailed synopsis:

The last summer of the 20th century. On that day, the human race realized that they were not the only ruler of the planet earth.

The emergence of gigantic monsters “kaiju” and the ultimate existence that even can destroy the kaijus, Godzilla. After half-century of the war against the kaijus, the human race repeatedly defeated and decided to escape from the earth.

Netflix will bring subscribers Godzilla: Monster Planet sometime later this year, which will first open in Japan this November. The animated movie is the 30th Toho-produced Godzilla picture. Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin) co-directed the picture, which is set 20,000 years in the future when Godzilla and monsters rule the Earth. Below, learn more about the […]

The post ‘Godzilla: Monster Planet’ Concept Art and Synopsis: When Monsters Reign Supreme appeared first on /Film.

Back in January, fans got their first look at Toho's first ever Godzilla anime movie, which is slated for release in Japan later this year. Earlier this month, Netflix picked up the streaming rights to this movie, which will be released theatrically in Japan before debuting worldwide on the popular streaming service. Today we have a new poster for this highly-anticipated anime movie, which doesn't give us a glimpse at Godzilla himself, but we do get to to see this futuristic world. We also have new concept art and the official synopsis.

The last summer of the 20th century. On that day, the human race realized that they were not the only ruler of the planet earth. The emergence of gigantic monsters "kaiju" and the ultimate existence that even can destroy the kaijus, Godzilla. After half-century of the war against the kaijus, the human race repeatedly defeated and decided to escape from the earth.

In recent years, monster fans have heard the mighty roar of the radioactive reptile, and the King of the Monsters shows no signs of slowing down, as Netflix and Toho are now teaming up for a new anime Godzilla project.

The Godzilla anime will be released globally on Netflix after a Japanese theatrical release via Toho. An exact release date and trailer have not yet been revealed, but you can check out concept art from the anime below, via the official site.

Press Release: Tokyo, Japan 13 March 2017 - Netflix, the world’s leading Internet television network, today announced an exciting addition to its slate, an original Japanese animation based on the Godzilla character, which will have its exclusive premiere on Netflix worldwide following a Toho theatrical release in Japan.

The first-ever high quality animation of the iconic global monster franchise is set to offer an epic re-imagining of the Godzilla world of the future.

Manga fans displeased by the changes made to “Ghost in the Shell” for this year’s live-action adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson (whom you may have noticed is not, in fact, Japanese) might have something to root for in “Blame!” Netflix has released the trailer for its take on Tsutomu Nihei’s beloved manga, which we’re assured has long been considered “visually impossible” to adapt. Watch below for a glimpse of how the streaming service fared.

Read More: TV Imports: The Best Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Acquired Series You’re Not Watching

Here’s the synopsis: “‘Blame!’ is set in the distant future where what’s left of the human race resides within the Megastructure, a vast and dangerous labyrinth that has grown wild and out of control. Thrown into this world is the mysterious Killy, a strange individual who is on a quest to bring civilization back from the brink of oblivion.