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Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion is an undisputed classic of mecha anime even 30 years after the original TV series debuted. A deeply personal, idiosyncratic genre deconstruction, Evangelion takes the classic premise of giant robots piloted by impressionable teenagers taking on a world-annihilating alien threat and transforms it into a surreal psychological thriller concerned with questions of identity, purpose, and value of human connection.

However, Evangelion is far from the only sci-fi anime that can appeal to fans of the unconventional, even if Anno’s magnum opus still largely dominates the conversation about the genre’s best works. These anime series explore interesting science fiction concepts in tandem with thought-provoking existential themes, making them perfect for fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion on the lookout for something even better.

Related10 Old Mecha Anime Better Than Most Modern Series

Classic mecha anime surpass a lot of the anime of the modern era.

After “The Albino’s Tree” (2016) and “Ring Wandering” (2021), director Masakazu Kaneko continues his dispute between humankind and nature.

River Returns is screening at Cinema at Sea

Set in 1958 during Japan’s economic boom, “River Returns” is a fantasy drama about a boy named Yucha, who lives in a mountain village together with his father and his grandmother. He learns about the tale of Oyu, whose fate caused the outbreak of many typhoons and floods that have damaged the village. Equipped with a wooden bowl that played in important role in Oyu’s life, the young boy begins a journey into the woods to meet her spirit and to save his family. In flashbacks, the fairytale-like narration tells about the love story of Oyu, who used to be a villager and fell in love with a woodcarver from the mountain tribe Kijiya. Their forbidden love caused sorrow that triggered the natural disasters.

If you take a look at the last four years of Netflix original films set in the action genre, you’ll notice that they make two types of action movies. The first kind are those that have genuine passion behind them, bursting with creativity, and instantly memorable, while the second kind are those that feel like Netflix’s donation to the actors’ retirement fund. For example, in 2021, on one side you had Kate, and on the other side you had Red Notice. In 2022, we got both something as innovative as Lost Bullet 2 and something as disappointing as The Gray Man. For 2023, there was Ballerina to get your adrenaline pumping and Heart of Stone to bore you to sleep. 2024 was the year for stuff like 60 Minutes and City Hunter and also for garbage like Atlas and Damsel. But, regardless of the quality of these Netflix films, I realized that...

The anime shorts from the WcDonald's universe continue as the second episode from Studio Pierrot was posted today both subbed and dubbed titled "Love From Across The Booth," featuring aesthetics familiar to any fans of Sailor Moon and the City Pop music genre. Related: WcDonald's Becomes Real with First Anime Short by Studio Pierrot Four anime shorts produced by Studio Pierrot will release over four weeks with a simultaneous manga chapter released on WcDonalds.com . Each episode will focus on a specific genre — Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy — with the next Mecha short launching March 11. You can watch the first episode of the Action genre here . The WcDonald's anime campaign also contains a themed restaurant experience launching first in Los Angeles from March 9-10, which takes inspiration from the Isekai genre. Artist Acky Bright also designed custom bags for the promotion, alongside an exclusive Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce available for a limited time.

More than likely, veteran anime viewers have spotted a "WcDonald's" restaurant in many of their favorite anime films or shows. From 80's classics like City Hunter to shonen hits from the 2000's like Inuyasha, the copyright-free parody of McDonald's has appeared in dozens if not hundreds of anime as a humorous doppelgänger of America's favorite fast-food chain. Now, McDonald's has teamed up with Studio Pierrot and acclaimed illustrator Acky Bright to create an entire WcDonald's animated universe, featuring an array of original characters and stories.

McDonald's just released the first of four WcDonald's shorts. featuring characters designed by Bright. The artist is also creating individual manga for each episode. The WcDonald's anime derives inspiration from four popular genres, making the series a great introduction to not only the WcDonald's universe, but to the world of anime as a whole. With the help of an interpreter, Cbr sat down for an exclusive interview with Bright,...

As time goes by and new generations of anime watchers emerge, so too does the way that they judge the series they're watching. Many popular anime from past decades —specifically, the '90s — no longer entertain audiences the way that they once did. However, for every one of these outdated '90s anime titles, there are countless more that have aged like fine wine.

The '90s were a time of significant change, both within the anime genre and the world in general. As a result, many of the Japanese series released during the time period are interested in exploring topics that feel distinctly modern and pushing the conventions of animation itself. This helps them hold up, even over two decades later.

Updated on February 25th 2024 by Sage Ashford: This list has been updated to reflect changes in Cbr's editing style.

Related 10 '90s Anime Romance Tropes Fans Still Love...

The anime industry is constantly moving and evolving. Each new season brings a raft of new shows to fans' screens, meaning there is always a brand-new story to dive into. Because of this, many older anime—even those regarded as classics upon release—can get lost in the shuffle, quickly falling out of the public consciousness.

This fall from grace is a shame as, despite their age, many of these classic anime feature beautiful animation, gripping stories, and themes still relevant to modern viewers and their experiences. Anime fans who dig into older anime will quickly find many beautiful and moving stories on offer, all just waiting to be uncovered by anime archeologists.

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Related 10 Anime That Defined Their Decades Throughout anime history, anime like Astro Boy, Akira, and Demon Slayer have revolutionized the medium and defined their decade. A Detective-Comedy That Nails The '80s Aesthetic City Hunter

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Throwback martial arts action film The Last Kumite heads to streaming in 2024, and here’s the trailer.

There is no question that the 1980s was a vintage time for action films, particularly in Hong Kong. There was a fruitful period in the mid 1980s when Hong Kong directors would hire American martial artists to go toe to toe with onscreen, both to broaden the international appeal and show a wide range of styles.

From Cynthia Rothrock going up against Sammo Hung in Shanghai Express to Richard Norton’s multiple bust ups with Jackie Chan in the likes of City Hunter and Mr Nice Guy, these performers went on to headline a series of low budget American action films that have since gained a cult following, perhaps most notably the China O’Brien series and the numerous No Retreat, No Surrender sequels

The Last Kumite looks set to be a throwback to that style,...

Netflix will give a May launch to “Sanctuary,” a sports drama series set in the specialized world of Japanese sumo wrestling.

Produced by the Slowtide company for the streamer, the show follows a juvenile delinquent who becomes a sumo apprentice. He soon finds himself on a collision course with a voiceless wrestler carrying a secret.

Netflix pitches it as “a gritty look into the underbelly of professional sumo, a world full of young men with ambitions for money, women, fame, and power […] where some may find sanctuary with a history of more than 1,500 years in Japan’s traditional culture and as a religious ceremony.”

The show is directed by Eguchi Kan from a screenplay by Kanazawa Tomoki. The producer is Fujita Daisuke and the executive producer for Netflix Sakamoto Kaata. The show will upload from May 4.

The diverse cast includes Ichinose Wataru, Sometani Shota (“Themis”), Kutsuna Shioli (“Deadpool 2”), Taguchi Tomorowo,...

Netflix is giving global fans a sneak peak at its forthcoming Japanese original series Sanctuary, a YA drama set within the reclusive world of Japanese professional sumo wrestling. (See the first teaser trailer and art from the show below.)

Set to launch on Netflix on May 4, the series follows a juvenile delinquent who becomes a sumo apprentice — and soon finds himself on a collision course with a voiceless wrestler carrying a secret.

Netflix describes the show as offering “a gritty look into the underbelly of professional sumo, a world full of young men with ambitions for money, women, fame, and power.”

“This is the story of the sumo ring,” the streamer adds, “where some may find sanctuary with a history of more than 1,500 years in Japan’s traditional culture and as a religious ceremony.”

The series is written by Tomoki Kanazawa (who recently penned the TBS medical drama Get Ready!

TF1 Studio has unveiled a raft of major pre-sales on “Superwho,” an action-packed comedy directed by Philippe Lacheau, in the run up to the Pre-Cannes Screenings, where the film will have its virtual world premiere on June 23.

Lacheau, who stars in his movie, is behind some of France’s biggest comedy hits in recent history, including the “Babysitting” franchise, “Alibi.com,” “City Hunter,” “All Gone South,” as well as Amazon’s French adaptation of “Lol.”

Tfi Studio has closed about 100 territories since introducing the project to buyers at the EFM, including Germany (Splendid), Japan (New Select), Latin America (Bf Distribution), South Korea (Activers), Benelux (Alternative Films), Switzerland (Pathé), Taiwan (Moviecloud), Cei (Exponenta), Portugal (Lusomundo), Poland (Monolith), Southeast Europe (Prorom), Middle East & North Africa (Nstars) and Vietnam (Viettel Media Company).

Lacheau headlines the film along with his regular co-stars, Tarek Boudali, the actor-director of “30 Days Max,” Julien Arruti and Elodie Fontan. Chantal Ladesou...

With plenty of genre efforts already made, it would seem very few original ideas are left in the ground to unearth for zombie films yet the concept of mixing together ‘The Raid: Redemption’ with ‘Fight Club’ is certainly an intriguing mixture. Nowhere near as unique or creative as it could’ve been but still highly enjoyable nonetheless, this mashup from emerging Taiwanese genre director Joe Chien has a lot to like due to that.

Arriving at an ordinary apartment building, police officer Andy and his team, Captain Ma and Li Wei find the rumors are true in that they’ve been unleashed into a zombie outbreak. Trying to fight their way through the horde of zombies inside, several other survivors Jenny and David also manage to stay alive inside the building and together fight their way to safety, only to see several years later that the zombie...

Eureka Entertainment to release “City Hunter”, Jackie Chan’s stylish action-comedy extravaganza, as part of the Eureka Classics range on Blu-ray on 17 September 2018, featuring a Limited Edition O-card and Collector’s Booklet (First print run only)

Synopsis

Jackie Chan stars as the girl-chasing private detective Ryo Saeba in this hilarious live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series, City Hunter, presented from a stunning new 2K restoration!

Hired to track down Shizuko Imamura, the runaway daughter of a publishing tycoon, Ryo initially turns the job down… until he sees a picture of the missing woman! Ryo eventually finds her aboard a luxury cruise ship, but much to the annoyance of his exasperated assistant Carrie, Ryo seems more interested in catching Shizuko’s attention than returning her safely to her father. When terrorists hijack the ship, Ryo must put his romantic feelings aside and swing into action to...

Launched six months ago, Orange Studio’s international sales division will be hitting Cannes Film Festival with three movies across various selections, including a pair of new acquisitions, Guillaume Nicloux’s Directors’ Fortnight player “To the Ends of the World” and “Rafiki” (pictured), Wanuri Kahiu’s Lgbt love story slated for Un Certain Regard.

“Rafiki” has just been banned by authorities in Kenya where homosexuality is illegal. Adapted from “Jambula Tree,” a short story by Uganda’s Monica Arac de Nyeko, the film tells the story of two teenage girls whose developing romance put them at odds with their families and community.

Météore Films will release “Rafiki” in France. Andrei Kamarowsky, who heads up Orange Studio’s international sales division with Emilie Serres, pointed out “Rafiki” will be the first Kenyan movie to be presented at Cannes Film Festival.

Orange Studio has also acquired international sales rights to...