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The Unreality of Pro Wrestling
Roman Reigns journey from The Shield to The Bloodline is one of the most bizarre and disastrous stories in pro wrestling. I shall now talk about it. EYEPATCH WOLVES…


Director Spotlight #8: “New Nemuro Pro Wrestling Story”
Born in 1976 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, he graduated from the Nihon University College of Art, majoring in film directing. He has directed a wide range of television programming,…


Shin-Anibros Anime Pro-Wrestling Short
Wesley narrates an epic anime throw-down in this 4-minute short!


Alter Egos in VTubing and Pro Wrestling
Sometimes, I think about how so many members of hololive have “other personas,” and I don’t mean past lives as other streamers or entertainers. More than simply being…


Lesbian Wrestling as coming of age? — Review: Pro Lesring: Ring Out!!
Grab a time machine, because we're going way back—to 1995, with lesbian wrestling and blue-haired Queens!


Tackle and Grapple! – 7 Sports Anime About Pro Wrestling
While anime loves to emphasize martial arts, wrestling anime akin to Pro Wrestling leagues is rather niche. Even in the Pro Wrestling sphere, there are a


How Incineroar in Smash Bros. Embodies Japanese Pro Wrestling
Incineroar is one of my favorite characters to play in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He’s the first truly traditional grappler character in the franchise, and his entire moveset…


The Case of the Photo Finish
detective fiction, 推理小説、games,
The Case of the Photo Finish
detective fiction, 推理小説、games, mystery, murder, locked room, Japanese, translations,


The early days of Kaname Pro
Studio Kaname Production is most famous for its OVA works, such as Birth and Genmu Senki Leda, which seem to embody the early years of the so-called “OVA…


Otafu Susume 15 – An Addiction to Japanese Pro-Wrestling (My Dad is a Heel Wrestler)
Japanese professional wrestling is probablythe weirdest sport(?) Wes has got his spouse hooked on. So they just HAD to watch My Dad is a Heel Wrestler.


Wrestling with Momoko
A new sports club is formed in tonight’s show and tell, featuring three drooling comedians whose questionable love of the sport comes second to their devotion for their…
A Golden Finish
This update is in the same vein as the previous one, but it’ll also be the last of its type. Today’s update adds a new section for Golden Brave…


The Brutal Legacy of Tiger Mask 1969: The First Wrestling Anime
Today's spoiler free anime review covers Tiger Mask 1969, the first wrestling anime which spawned the legacy of the Tiger Mask franchise. I also discuss the manga too,…


Watch Party! Let’s Finish the Final Episodes of Toradora!
Can you believe it? We’re almost done with our Toradora watch parties! We’re going to finish the last six episodes over two nights. Come join Chickennuggee as she…


A brief history of Kaname Pro
Unlike other great and influential studios with a distinct animation philosophy, like A Pro, Ghibli, Sunrise or Kyoto Animation, the Kanada school never had a single, durable place…
Dallos, Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Once Upon A Time


Japanese Professional Wrestling: Strong Style
Strong Style is the most common type of professional wrestling. It came from a disagreement in approach between the wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Shohei Baba. Inoki founded New…


Anime’s Pro Shoppers!
Black Friday sales have come and gone, the chaotic crowds swarming the entrances to big box stores, small boutiques, and shopping malls have thinned to more reasonable gaggles…


The History of Mushi Pro – 3 – The beginning of the end (1967-1969)
With the huge debt left by its former acting director and the end of Mushi’s partnership with NBC Enterprises, the studio found itself in an increasingly difficult financial…


The Story of Perrine
Like its 1977 predecessor Rascal the Raccoon, 1978’s The Story of Perrine is among the least-known World Masterpiece Theater entries in the English-speaking sphere. Such does not seem…
Dog of Flanders, Future Boy Conan, Perrine Monogatari, Anne of Green Gables


The Story of Suikoden
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes promises to revive the Suikoden series in everything but name, but what's so great about Suikoden that it's worth reviving? Well, read on…


Heroines Run the Show – 08 – Photo Finish
With the departure of Nagisa (and, it would seem, Hiyori’s makeover) the show moves on to something else…Field Day, which always ends up a lot blander than the…


The History of Mushi Pro – 02 – Anime business (1965-1966)
While I’m hesitant to speak of “golden ages”, if Mushi Production had one, it was certainly the years 1965-1966. Still riding on Tetsuwan Atom’s prodigious popularity, the studio…


The History of Mushi Pro – 1.5 – Atom through its storyboards
In the previous article of this series, I stated that Tetsuwan Atom’s production was “centered on one document, the storyboard”. Although the production pipeline of anime has changed…


The History of Mushi Pro – 04 – Mushi’s gekiga (1969-1970)
According to Eiichi Yamamoto, the years 1970-1971 represented Mushi Pro’s “second golden age” [1]. There seems to be some truth to this statement: the number of new productions…
Kyojin no Hoshi, Lupin III, Sabu & Ichi's Arrest Warrant, Tomorrow's Joe, Dororo


The History of Mushi Pro – 1.5 – Atom through its storyboards
In the previous article of this series, I stated that Tetsuwan Atom’s production was “centered on one document, the storyboard”. Although the production pipeline of anime has changed…


Japanese Professional Wrestling: King’s Road Style
Japanese professional wrestling has roots in American pro-wrestling. Many of the holds and brawling seen in early matches came from the various styles popular in the United States.…
Talentless Nana – 05 – Photo Finish
As evidenced when he immediately blackmails Nana into being his girlfriend, Hatadaira Tsunekichi is clearly a scumbag, and thus not really worthy of any sympathy. Of her victims…


Rebirth!! Dynamic Pro Scanlations
I have returned and with me I bring the first of things to come! Giant Robo Volume 1 Giant Robo Volume 2 Mars Volume…
Getter Robo Arc, Great Mazinger, Mazinger Z, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Blade of the Immortal


The Story of Animerama: Origins
In the 1960s, one of the first studios to make anime for television was Mushi Productions. Towards the end of that decade, their desire to ...


The INSANE Story Of HELLSING
Download OperaGX for FREE: https://operagx.gg/BonsaiPop4 Hellsing is one of the best vampire stories out there and Alucard is obviously the coolest anime vamprie ever created. But maybe you…


The Story of Animerama: Cleopatra
A Thousand and One Nights didn’t come together quite as smoothly as Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto hoped, but they did manage to make a...
Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, Sazae-san, 1001 Nights, Tomorrow's Joe, Belladonna of Sadness


The INSANE Story Of Trigun
Go to https://www.world.holzkern.com/en_world/bonsaipop and use my code BONSAIPOP15 for 15% off + a polishing cloth worth over $15! Trigun is a show people have seen, but so few people have…


The Story of Animerama: Legacy
The Animerama trilogy officially ended in 1973 with the failed release of Belladonna of Sadness and the closure of Mushi Productions. That...
Broken Down Film, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, The Sensualist, Unico, Belladonna of Sadness


The Story of a Door
I’ve always believed that if a story is able to center around one large theme, and representing it through a simple object, it can achieve wonders. Suzume no…


The Story of Puppet Princess
Karakuri no Kimi (2000) https://myanimelist.net/profile/animebackwhen Puppet Princess Review This is a true story.. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine. So one day back in ancient Japan when 2…


The Soul of a Story
How do we deal with “products of their time,” stories we love, with their problematic elements that can teach us the wrong message, even when we just want…


Anime I Never Made To The Finish Line
Apart of the watching process of is there are things we never make it to the finish line for whatever reason. This will be a fun post!


The Story of the Japanese Peruvians
They're one of the world's most important Japanese diaspora groups. Meet the Japanese-Peruvians, and learn their dramatic history.


Rintarō, “New Moomin” (1972), and the Last Days of Mushi Pro
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of a rather little-known series in Japanese animation history. New Moomin was the second TV anime to be based loosely on Finnish…


The History of Mushi Pro – 05 – Farewell to Tezuka (1970-1972)
From a Tezuka-centered perspective, the legacy of the Animerama films is difficult to assess. They were certainly pioneering, but the studio had to pay a heavy toll for…


The Story of Animerama: Belladonna of Sadness
By 1971, things looked grim for the Animerama project and Mushi Productions. Cleopatra had flopped, Tezuka had resigned from the studio i...
Tomorrow's Joe, Belladonna of Sadness, Cleopatra: Queen of Sex, Little Wansa


Documentaries at CJFC 2024: Music and Wrestling!
Get ready to be inspired! These two docs bring the fun of Minyo Crusaders’ playful music revival and the heartfelt spirit of Hokkaido’s amateur wrestlers. Laughter, tears, and…


The History of Mushi Pro – 06 – Towards the World Masterpiece Theater (1971-1973)
Rather than narrate Mushi’s supposedly inevitable fall, I’d like to paint a related, but different picture: that of a studio which, by the end of Tezuka’s presidency and…


The History of Mushi Pro – 01 – The Road to TV Anime (1960-1965)
Osamu Tezuka, the God of Manga, is also the father of modern anime – not only did he coin the word, his Tetsuwan Atom was the first animated…


The ANN Aftershow - DAN DA DAN's Race to the Finish!
It's one of the most impressive chase scenes to put to animation this week in DAN DA DAN! Plus, the Catholic Church adopts a new mascot and one…


Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story (Episode 9) – Ichina Saotome Wants to Be a Pro Caddy!
Ichina is determined to be a pro caddy and is searching for someone that she can partner with. So, imagine her luck when she is almost hit by…


Spy×Family 34 (Finish Them! #SPY_FAMILY)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Spy×Family 34. Yor defeats the final killer. Loid, in disguise, helps defuse bombs on the cruise ship.


Ten Great Manga I Cannot Finish
I know I already did a “Ten Great Manga with some weird gimmick” post, but I’ve considered this one for a while. I’m one of many who waited…


Semelparous (Volume 3) – We Finish Together
Now that Yorino has been outed as a pureblood Mure, the enemy has decided to make its move. How will Kaminoi and Yorino react when their lives are…