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Anime, or animated film and television projects produced in Japan, cover the entire spectrum of genres and tones. As effervescent and joyous as anime movies can be, they can also be absolutely dreary and melancholy, depending on the story. The award-winning animation production company Studio Ghibli excels at this juxtaposition, with their acclaimed and beloved films celebrating life's wonders and tragedies in equal measure. When anime movies lean in for sadder moments, they do so with heart-rending effectiveness that can leave audiences shaken long after the credits roll.

Simply put, as long as there's been anime movies, the medium has embraced the possibilities of using it to tell tragic stories. These can be films with an absolutely downer ending to movies that tap heavily into melancholy themes, even if the main characters eventually come out okay. There's just something about a true anime tearjerker that hits differently than their western animation counterparts.

One of anime's greatest strengths is the genre's vast variety. From poignant Studio Ghibli classics to traditional Shnen like Dragon Ball and Hunter X Hunter, there are countless compelling stories to be discovered within the broad narrative category, regardless of whether you're looking for an out-of-world experience with an Isekai anime or something as comforting as a slice-of-life, sapphic Yuri. Still, with so many options to explore, it's easy to overlook any number of anime classics from the last century, and horror fans in particular should check out one of anime's most underrated fantasy films of the 1970s, director Eiichi Yamamoto's 1973 masterpiece Belladonna of Sadness.

Mushi Production's avant-garde anime film Belladonna of Sadness has been beloved by fans for over five decades. Now, just past the film's 50th anniversary, a crowdfunding campaign is underway to restore illustrator Kuni Fukai's iconic artwork for the film. Fukai's art, which makes up approximately 70% of the film, was unfortunately largely lost after Mushi Production went bankrupt. However, with the 2016 4K remaster released here in the United States, fans in Japan saw a new way to approach restoration. This crowdfunded project seeks to restore the artwork from this remaster, supervised by Fukai himself. Related: Tokyo Ghoul 10th Anniversary Box Set and More Join Crunchyroll December 2024 Home Video Lineup The project is planned to proceed in two stages, both of which will be crowdfunded. The first, currently underway on Motion Gallery and halfway to its goal, will focus on restoring the artwork. The second, to be crowdfunded at a later date,...

Quick Links Belladonna of Sadness Plot and History The Stunningly Beautiful Anime Was Overlooked on Release How Belladonna of Sadness Was Ahead of Its Time Should I Watch Belladonna of Sadness?

Very few movies can boldly claim to be completely innovative and original in animation. Looking over the history of animation, there will always be 'firsts,' but to stand out and go against convention to make something entirely new is a rarity. Films like The Red Turtle, Hedgehog in The Fog, and The Triplets of Belleville all exist as a testament to the art form and what it is capable of when creatives challenge themselves to push the boundaries of what the medium is capable of.

One such film to challenge conventions on release is the 1973 anime feature film, Belladonna of Sadness. The movie proved ahead of its time, with a remarkably intricate visual style and approaching taboo themes.

The official website of Tokyo Anime Award Festival, or Taaf in short, announced the winners of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement awards on Dec 14, 2023. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of animation industry and culture.

The following members have won the Taaf 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award;

1. Shunzo Kato

A renowned producer behind numerous works of Tms Entertainment and Telecom Animation. Anpanman, Akira, Space Cobra are some of his well known anime.

2. Akira Toriyama

Mangaka, who is known for Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump – Arale-chan, Sandland, among others.

3. Sukehiro Tomita

He is a scriptwriter, known for his work on Space Runaway Ideon, Macross II, Digimon Frontier, Gall Force, etc.

4. Ryousuke Takahashi

A director, who is known for original works such as Armored Trooper Votoms, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Cyborg 009, Phoenix, and others. Taaf describes him as “a rare creator who has consistently unfolded his unique worlds across a wide range of genres,...

Captivating, original anime stories come out each year and while fresh ideas can connect with audiences, there’s often an even greater advantage to returning to an older, established idea from a different angle. Sequels are a necessary evil in every industry and anime movies are no exception, whether it’s movies like The Cat Returns, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, or even Dragon Ball Z: Broly - Second Coming.

Anime sequels aren’t always creatively bankrupt or destined to fail, but there’s still a delicate balance to figuring out which stories deserve another chapter. Audiences have understandable reservations that cherished anime classics will receive disappointing successors. However, there are plenty of retro anime classics that could do a lot with a proper sequel.

5 Harsh Realities Of Anime Sequels (& 5 Perks)

Belladonna Of Sadness Release Date: June 30, 1973

Belladonna of Sadness must be seen to be believed. It's more of...

Joan of Arc has inspired numerous female warriors in anime, showing her enduring influence in storytelling. Anime often explores the concept of sainthood, with characters drawing inspiration from Joan's conversations with her saints and their heavy destinies. Characters like Casca from Berserk reflect Joan of Arc's humanity, showcasing her leadership, bravery, and tragic struggles in a fictionalized setting.

Joan of Arc was a war leader who was instrumental in France retaining its sovereignty from the invading English. Though she was illiterate, her court transcripts detail how incredibly well-spoken, passionate, and true to her morals she was. It's not often that a peasant woman acts as a knight and war general. Joan has one of the most documented lives as a woman from the peasantry, and she's captured the hearts and imaginations of people for so long that many legends are attached to her story. There's a lot about Joan of Arc that inspires authors,...

Many of the biggest anime phenomena are the ongoing series that have accrued hundreds, or even thousands, of episodes over the years. That said, anime feature films have the potential to hit even greater heights due to factors like bigger budgets and their compulsion to tell standalone stories.

Related: 10 Anime Movies That Wasted Great Premises

Particular anime movies like Akira, Spirited Away, or even more recent fare like Promare have become evergreen classics that showcase what this medium can accomplish. However, there are many impressive anime movies that slip through the cracks and haven’t achieved the same notoriety, despite the level of excellence behind them.

Updated on May 8th, 2023 by Casey Coates: This list has been updated to include trailers and to reflect Cbr's current publishing style.

Belladonna Of Sadness Release Date: June 30, 1973

Eiichi Yamamoto's Belladonna of Sadness is 50 years old and yet modern anime movies struggle...

For our latest dive into recent books on or related to cinema, we’re spending time with some icons––fictional (James Bond) and non. Let’s start with 50 color palettes and one beautifully unique new text.

Colors of Film: The Story of Cinema in 50 Palettes by Charles Bramesco (Frances Lincoln)

Colors of Film is an engrossing study of how filmmakers utilize color in complex, ingenious, emotionally impactful ways. Some of these examples (e.g. the red jacket in Schindler’s List) have inspired much discourse. What makes this book––by the always-entertaining and -intelligent critic Charles Bramesco––so special is its focus on less-obvious films. A noteworthy case: Hype Williams’ Belly and its “flights of stylistic fancy.” During its hyper-stylized opening, as gangsters Buns and Sin “prowl through the dance floor, ceiling-mounted blacklights make the men look extraterrestrial, their eyeballs glowstick-turquoise against deeper blue skin.” Other entries focus on everything...

The BFI today announce full details of a hotly anticipated two-month season dedicated to Anime, running at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX from 28 March – 31 May. Originally planned for summer 2020 as part of the BFI’s major survey of Japanese cinema BFI Japan, the season arrives, at long last, to entertain and delight anime fans and novices alike.

The programme will include:

· A broad mixture of classic films such as Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Belladonna Of Sadness, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and Tekkonkinkreet, as well as an early shorts programme spotlighting work from 1917-1946· Previews of new releases including the thrillingly original Inu-oh, high-octane urban fairy tale Bubble and the powerful and thought-provoking short Summer Ghost (2021) followed by a Q&a with director loundraw· Much-loved recent work by major auteurs Mamoru Hosoda, Makoto Shinkai (Your Name) and the late great Satoshi Kon· A spotlight on emerging female talent Naoko Yamada...

by Rei Yukon

Obscene, disturbing yet undeniably intoxicating, the screenplay of “Belladonna of Sadness” (1973) exhibits extraordinarily breath-taking compositions that offer its viewers an experience skirting the line between sadistic indulgence and heart-wrenching anguish. This enigmatic film is the lovechild of prolific writer Osamu Tezuka’s (creator of the Astro Boy series) vision and director Eichii Yamamoto’s enigmatic conception- the third part of the “Animerama” trilogy; a line-up of adult anime feature films initiated by the former in his studio, Mushi Productions between the 1960s till the late 70s.

on Amazon

“Belladonna of Sadness” is not a film renowned for its plot- but for its audacity. Centred around the tragic story of a young woman’s life in her feudal village, the film deals with the torture, persecution, and liberation of Jeanne, after she is brutally raped in a ritual “droit du seigneur” by the village baron on her wedding day.

Masaaki Yuasa has long established himself as one of the most creatively unbridled minds in all of modern animation — his expressionistic films and television shows (“Devilman Crybaby”) alike exude a shape-shifting fearlessness that allows them to address old strifes with new sensitivities — but not even his die-hard fans could hope to adequately prepare themselves for the head-scratching, jaw-dropping, head-banging freak-out of the director’s latest and potentially last feature, “Inu-Oh.” , “Inu-Oh” unfolds like a mash-up between the Japanese legend “The Tale of the Heike” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” right down to the Freddie Mercury falsetto. Not since 1973’s “Belladonna of Sadness” has an anime feature reimagined ancient history in such hypnotically psychedelic fashion.

At heart, “Inu-Oh” is a film about storytelling’s power to keep the past alive, and while Yuasa’s carnivalesque extravaganza can be too slippery to hold onto at times, it always proves unforgettable in a...

Third Window Films have carved a niche for themselves in the home video market, bringing quality contemporary as well as some classic Japanese cinema to a much wider audience. Their work on restored versions of Takeshi Kitano films is much loved. This time, however, they have picked two films that are completely different from what they’ve released so far, yet somehow feel very “Third Window films”. “1001 Nights” and “Cleopatra” are the first and second films in the Animerama Series, a series of three adult-themed animated films from the creative duo of Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto

“Cleopatra” opens in a distant future, where mankind is facing a threat from a Pasateli alien race who plan to conquer humans through what is known as the “Cleopatra Plan”. Unsure as to what the plan exactly is, Jiro, Harvey and Mary are selected by their commanding officer to...

Auch wenn sich die Zeiten seit der Premiere von „Belladonna of Sadness“ auf der Berlinale 1973 geändert haben, muss man dennoch attestieren, dass dem Trick- und Animationsfilm nach wie vor eine eher stiefmütterliche Behandlung zukommt, wie es Autor Wolfgang Frömberg in seinem Essay zum Film ausdrückt. Im Vergleich zu den 1970er Jahren sind es heute noch vergleichsweise paradiesische Zustände, wobei vor allem, kann man doch heute durchaus Werken wie „Akira“ oder „Ghost in the Shell“ nachweisen, dass sie thematisch wie auch ästhetisch keinesfalls ein junges Publikum ansprechen. In gewisser Weise legte jemand wie Eiichi Yamamoto hierfür den Grundstein mit seiner vielleicht bekanntesten Kollaboration mit Osamu Tezuka, die 1973, wie auch heute, zeigt, was der Animationsfilm kann, denn „Belladonna of Sadness“ ist nicht nur ästhetisch ansprechend, sondern stellt auf provokative Weise nach der Rolle von Emanzipation und Freiheit in unserem Leben.

Kauf Diesen Titel

Die Geschichte spielt im mittelalterliche Frankreich, in einer kleinen Stadt,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Art-House Animation

If your eyes are tired of the latest cookie-cutter animation from the Hollywood mill, Criterion is featuring quite a line-up of inventive arthouse offerings in the field. With works by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more, the series includes The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962), Belladonna of Sadness (1973), Fantastic Planet (1973), Watership Down (1978), Son of the White Mare (1981), Alice (1988), Millennium Actress (2001), Mind Game (2004), Paprika (2006), Persepolis (2007), Waltz with Bashir (2008), Mary and Max (2009), It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012), Tower (2016), The Wolf House (2018), No. 7 Cherry Lane (2019), and more.

Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel

Neo-Noir

One of the greatest series to arrive on the Criterion Channel thus far is this selection of neo-noir offerings, including Brian De Palma’s masterpieces Blow Out and Body Double,...

The July lineup at The Criterion Channel has been revealed, most notably featuring the new Wong Kar Wai restorations from the recent box set release, including As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and his shorts Hua yang de nian hua and The Hand.

Also among the lineup is a series on neo-noir with Body Double, Manhunter, Thief, The Last Seduction, Cutter’s Way, Brick, Night Moves, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and more. The channel will also feature a spotlight on art-house animation with work by Marcell Jankovics, Satoshi Kon, Ari Folman, Don Hertzfeldt, Karel Zeman, and more.

With Jodie Mack’s delightful The Grand Bizarre, the landmark doc Hoop Dreams, Orson Welles’ take on Othello, the recent Oscar entries Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time and You Will Die at Twenty, and much more,...

Exclusive: Author Adalyn Grace, whose first novel All the Stars And Teeth debuted at #2 on The New York Times Young Adult Hardcover bestseller list, has signed with APA for film and television.

The novel, published by Macmillan in 2020, is set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice—for everyone, that is, except Princess Amora, who must prove her mastery of soul magic to claim her spot on the throne. When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee, and she strikes a deal with a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic. The paperback edition just hit The New York Times monthly Young Adult Paperback Books bestsellers list, and the anticipated sequel, All the Tides of Fate, was just published.

Grace’s next YA novel,...

Happy (Good) Friday, everyone! Even though time isn’t much of a construct these days, the weekend is officially here and if you’re like me, you’re looking for ways to entertain yourself at home during this whole pandemic mess. And with the economy being what it is right now, I know it’s helpful for many folks out there to save money wherever you can, so I thought I would dive into all the great films over at Tubi TV to compile a list of more than 50 different cult films you can currently stream for free.

Just a note: there are a lot of definitions of “cult film,” so I did my best to not include a bunch of titles that horror fans throw around ad nauseam here, and I even opened up my search parameters a bit to include horror, sci-fi, and genre-adjacent titles that I feel...

In 1973, Osamu Dezaki took the zero-to-hero sports shojo written by Sumika Yamamoto about high school freshman Hiromi and made a 25-episode TV animation series. Six years later, the successful Nippon Television show was put on the big screen by the same director. Being one of the best-selling shojo manga of all time, the tennis drama is a groundbreaking story that puts a strong female character in the lead and can be seen, together with “Attack No.1” (1969), as a precursor of future anime.

“Aim for the Ace!” will screen at Japan Society

“Aim for the Ace!” tells the story of Hiromi Oka, a high school student, who joins the tennis club because of her admiration for senior student Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki, spoken by famous voice actress Masako Ikeda (“Galaxy Express 999” ), is the best player in the team and in the course of the film Oka gets the chance to play double with her.

You can tell that the Halloween season is getting closer, between various retailers already donning their shelves with tons of decorations, the days are getting shorter, and Turner Classic Movies has debuted their October schedule online, which features an abundance of genre awesomeness that will be hitting airwaves this fall. Without a doubt, TCM is one of the best resources for classic film, so for those of you looking to broaden your horizons this Halloween, definitely check out their calendar and set those DVRs.

Also, TCM has designated Godzilla as their “Monster of the Month” for October, so look for a bunch of classic films featuring the “King of the Monsters” and other beloved Kaiju throughout October as well.

**All Listings are in Est.**

Friday, September 27th

3:15pm – The Mummy’s Shroud

6:30pm – The Mummy (1959)

Saturday, September 28th

2:00am – Belladonna of Sadness

3:30am – House (1977)

Sunday, September...

HBO’s new series “Euphoria” has stirred up another big controversy after airing an animated sex scene featuring former One Direction band members Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles. The sequence aired during the show’s third episode, “Made You Look,” and was an animated visualization of fan fiction written by the character Kat (Barbie Ferreira).

Styles has yet to say anything about the sequence, but Tomlinson briefly addressed the matter on social media. Replying to a fan wondering if the musicians approved of their likeness being used for a sex scene, Tomlinson replied: “I can categorically say that I was not contacted nor did I approve it.”

The scene in question was set backstage at a One Direction concert. An animated Tomlinson was waiting to go on stage and perform when Harry snuck up behind him and seduced him. Styles begins performing oral sex on Tomlinson as the scene becomes...

HBO’s new drama series “Euphoria” has delivered its fair share of graphic nudity and sex scenes over its first three episodes (who can forget the buzz around the “30 penises scene” in episode two?), but none have been as hilarious and unexpected as a sex scene featuring former One Direction band members Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. The sequence was an animated rendering of fan fiction written by the character Kat (Barbie Ferreira) and featured Harry performing oral sex on Louis backstage at a One Direction concert.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, “Euphoria” showrunner Sam Levinson said the decision to animate Kat’s graphic fan fiction came from the series’ overall mission to maintain a subjective reality. “Something that I thought was a fascinating or exciting idea was to take this burgeoning curiosity about sexuality that’s ultimately framed through the lens of fan fiction and allow it to come to life,...

For 11 years running, our end-of-the-year tradition on the Notebook has been to poll our roster of contributors to create fantasy double features of new and old films. But what about the curators behind Mubi itself? This year we begin what we hope to be a new tradition: publishing the favorite films of the year as chosen by our programming team: Daniel Kasman in the U.S., Anaïs Lebrun and Chiara Marañón in the U.K. We each have two lists: our top new films that premiered in 2018, and then a selection of revivals screened in cinemas.PREMIERESDaniel Kasman1. Blue (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand)2. The Image Book (Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland)3. Support the Girls (Andrew Bujalski, USA)4. The Other Side of the Wind (Orson Welles, USA)5. The Waldheim Waltz (Ruth Beckermann, Austria)6. Unsane (Steven Soderbergh, USA)7. The Grand Bizarre (Jodie Mack, USA)8. The Red Shadow [director's cut]9. What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?...

Join myself and Michael Cockerill of the newly launched MindFrame(s) podcast as we create a Holiday Gift Guide for Screen Anarchy. Part 1 looks at home entertainment gifts from boutique labels. Scream Factory offers up an outstanding Candyman special edition, Blue Underground has released a fantastic 4K upgrade of Zombie and Arrow Video gives us an awesome edition of John Landis' little-seen first pic Schlock. Severin pulls Horror of Party Beach, an equally obscure title, into beautifully restored shape, and Cinelicious Pics sent their entire catalog! Belladonna of Sadness, The Last Movie, Private Property, Gangs of Wasseypur, Funeral Parade of Roses, and two from Agnes Varda starring Jane Birkin. All come highly recommended depending on the taste of the cinephile you are buying them for....

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The article was first published in EasternKicks

Mushi Productions, a company created and abandoned by Osamu Tezuka, (aka “God of Manga”), produced the adult-themed anime Belladonna of Sadness, in 1973. It was the final part of a trilogy named Animerama, a commercial failure that kept the title in anonymity for many years, despite the fact that some editions of very low quality were circulating in the internet. In 2014 however, the original anime was restored and is now available in 4K. Let us take things from the beginning, though.

Belladona of Sadness is screening at Five Flavours

The story behind the title

Animerama trilogy is a series of thematically-related adult anime feature films originally conceived and initiated by Osamu Tezuka and made at his Mushi Production animation studio from the late 1960s to early 1970s, probably intended as animated counterparts to the then-emergent pink genre:.

Apart from their erotic themes, they are...

“A Thousand and One Nights” was released by Mushi Productions as part of the short lived “Animerama” series, which were erotic/experimental adaptations of some classic stories. While obtaining some success within Japan, when it was attempted to be brought into American theaters the film did not meet with much success, rendering the dubbed version of this film lost. The production now seems to serve more as an interesting side note in film history, given it predating the cult classic “Fritz the Cat”.

The film is an adaptation of the Arabic collection of stories by the same title. Since the film is adapted from a novel that contains various stories from different authors over a long period of time, it is hard to give a simple plot synopsis, The film is tied together by the character “Aldin” who lives the life of a poor merchant before embarking...

Ten Asian films will be screen during the Istanbul Film Festival here is more information about them.

The 35th Istanbul Film Festival (Iksv) will take place from April 7th to the 17th in Istanbul (Turkey). Sadly this year there will be no Asian movie present at the International Competition. Two Asian movies will be screen at the “Human Rights in Cinema” section, one in the “From the World of Festivals” section, one in the “Young Masters” section, five in the “Mined Zone” section and one in the “Hidden Gems” section.

Human Rights in Cinema

This section is dedicated to raises public consciousness and sensitivity to human rights related issues.

Behemoth (Bei xi mo shou) by Zhao Liang – China | 2015 – 90 mim

In the Old Testament, the mountains are the domain of a monster named Behemoth; in modern times the vast mining industry has taken the monster’s place. With a violent roar,...