More like this
Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History
Sometimes I com across a book that, while outside of my normal area of study, is so mind-blowing, I really just want people to know about it. Comics…
Books: History of Chinese Animation
By Jonathan Clements. Released as part of a Routledge series of translations of Chinese scholarship, Sun Lijun’s two-volume History of Chinese Animation is the largest work yet published…
Moving Heaven and Earth – A look back at Castle in the Sky
While Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may be the first original film project cited in Miyazaki’s canon, the honor of being the first true Studio Ghibi…
Urusei Yatsura – 33 – Heaven Is a Date on Earth with You
With the possible futures mini-arc concluded, Urusei is back to self-contained segments, both of which have to do with the supernatural. First up, Mendou is out of school…
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 60) – Eye of Heaven, Gateway of Earth
Father has the five sacrifices where he wants them and is just biding time until the eclipse occurs. This might be their last chance to stop him… if…
Books: Chinese Animation and Socialism
By Jonathan Clements. Daisy Yan Du’s newly published collection Chinese Animation and Socialism: From Animators’ Perspectives focuses on the rise and fall of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio…
From Astro Boy to Pluto: The History of “The Greatest Robot on Earth”
Learn how “The Greatest Robot on Earth” chapter of Astro Boy would so greatly affect Naoki Urasawa that it led to Pluto nearly 40 years later.
Small History and Big History
History has two different and related types: small and big. Big history is what you learn in school. It’s the major events of the past: the American Revolution,…
The Origins of Weeaboo
I’ve never had much first hand contact with the term “weeaboo”. I learned it from an anime loving friend who used it more like a term of endearment.…
The Origins of Bara
Like with all kinds of mediums, Bara has a history of its own. And it comes with its own prejudice. History for some reason won’t always tell the…
Gyarados: The Chinese Dragon?
On right: Flag of the Qing dynasty Gyarados is a Water/Flying type in the Pokemon video games, yet it is often thought of as a dragon-like Pokemon. This…
The FUNNIEST Chinese Anime...
The Daily Life of the Immortal king is achinese anime or donghua that's on crunchyroll and netflix. A goofier version of The Misfit of Demon King Academy combined…
Ragna Crimson, The Apothecary Diaries, Undead Unluck, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
The Joan Birch Society
Consent-As-A-Service, Part 3 Part 1: “Manufacturing Consent Is So Last Century. Now, We Offer Consent-As-A-Service.” Part 2: “‘War’ Means Never Having To Say You’…
House of Earth and Blood
The first sentence on the blurb on the back cover of House of Earth and Blood is “Half-Fae, half-human Bryce Quinlan loves her life.” And t...
Books on Japanese Culture and Society
This past semester I taught a class on Japanese science fiction and fantasy, and I was surprised by how interested my students were in learning more about the…
The Origins of Visual Novels
Last year I wrote a blog post about the origins of visual novels and how I believe the term is often misused in the West to classify games…
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 ...
Reblog: Twwk Talks Frieren and Heaven
Last month, I connected with the amazing folks of Love Thy Nerd through a conference they organized with other partners called the Nerd Culture Ministry Summit. It was…
Steins;Gate and Heaven part 2
I had my attention drawn back to a post I made about how Steins;Gate has some relations to how we should look at heaven and spreading the good news. Specifically with…
Middle Earth: The Anime?
By Andrew Osmond. An anime cinema feature film of JRR Tolkien’s Middle-Earth has been announced, entitled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. At last,…
Vox Machina Origins
Vox Machina Origins is a spin-off comic series from Critical Role’s Vox Machina. The story is about how the members of Vox Machina meet and form the party.…
Pretty Cure: Origins
Toei Animation has been making magical girl anime since Sally the Witch in 1966 – and TV Asahi (previously known as Nihon Educational Television, or NET) has been…
Nine: Adachi's Origins
Happy Summer Koshien! While Mitsuru Adachi stands right alongside other mangaka titans like Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama in Japan and many other countries, he's been mostly overlooked…
Ju-on: Origins
(This is one of the ones I watch so that you don’t have to, folks. Spoilers ahead.) Against all odds, I still hold out hope for Japanese horror—that…
Hanjo at the Japan Society
This past weekend I volunteered at the Japan Society, where the Mishima Yukio play, Hanjo, was being performed as part of the Japan Society’s ongoing Noh Now Series.…
The Origins of Mecha: The 1990s Part 1: Landmarks and Evolutions
The dawn of the 1990s saw Japan entering a period of economic turbulence and upheaval. Rampant speculation, coupled by inflation from the Plaza Accord saw
![Featured image for Turn A Gundam Volume 4, Chapter 23 – “The Earth-Shattering Dark History” [Vol. 4 END]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20211024/1635034355.23803.50270.png)
Turn A Gundam Volume 4, Chapter 23 – “The Earth-Shattering Dark History” [Vol. 4 END]
Here it is! The final chapter of volume 4, which reveals to the reader the Dark History. It’s quite a different approach than the anime. This manga is…
[Cyberpunk://0420] – Cyberpunk Society and Its Future
Cyberpunk —Echo of the past —A bottle to the sea —Drifting along our era's shores —Finding its way before our eyes —Voiceless against a world deafened by its…
Review: Third Shift Society & Lost and Found
Third Shift Society Author’s & Artist Name: Meredith Moriarty Year released: 2016 Genre: Action, Supernatural Latest chapters: 36 Status: Ongoing Ellie, a college dropout, is struggling to fin…
Magikarp And The Dragons Gate: It’s Connection With Chinese And Japanese Mythology.
Right image: Art by Yuumei (Note: if on mobile, you may need to refresh the page to fix any display issues) It’s impressive how much thought has been…
The Avant-Garde Origins of 'Gumby'
Plus: animation news.
Millennium Actress and History
By Jonathan Clements. The approach of the year 2000 was fraught with a sense of commemoration and closure. Various media tried to put a cap on Japan’s last…
THE TWO CYCLE ENGINE SAAB AND SAVING THE PLANET EARTH
As you read this, you may be asking yourself why I am so fascinated by these cars with three cylinders and a two-cycle engine. Because the earth itself…
Baoh The Visitor: The Origins of Jojo
Greetings, fabulous people of the Internet! Hanime on Anime here, and welcome to the first Sunday review in quite a while! And for the first review after my…
Earth Liner
General Information Unit type: support vehicleLength: 44.5 metersWeight: 33.6 metric tonsMaximum speed: 650.0 km/hOriginal mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara Lineart N/A
Earth Fighter
General Information Unit type: support vehicleLength: 25.0 metersWeight: 19.2 metric tonsMaximum speed: Mach 3.5Original mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara Lineart Rear view
Versus Earth
A manga where humanity is battling against deadly pillars who threaten to exterminate them appear from the ground. Teenager Haruto Teragane is dragged into this battle after becoming…
The Chinese Cartoon That Beat the Censors
Plus: retro ads and the world's animation news.
The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation
The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets in Translation is an outstanding read. For reasons that are discussed in the book itself, translator…
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Episode 10: Mysterious Origins and Lindel’s Master
The Ancient Magus' Bride episode 10: Chise accepts Lindel's invitation to visit the Land of the Dragons -- but she's to come alone with Ruth.
The Legend of Black Heaven and The Power of Midlife Crisis
Genre : Science Fiction, music, wish fulfillment, parody Episodes: 13 Studio: AIC, A.P.P.P. Oji, I mean Gabriel, is not having fun! One minute he was a lean…
One Shots / “The Earth Guardian”
This weekend marks the start of a new Ultraman series, Ultraman Arc. It’s a constant reminder of how time flies really fast as around this time one year…
Review: Chinese Doctors (2021)
Chinese Doctors 中国医生 China, 2021, colour, 2.35:1, 127 mins. Director: Liu Weiqiang 刘伟强 [Andrew Lau]. Rating: 6/10. Wuhan-set Covid drama has a propulsive, convincing first half but slacker,…
Viewing Godzilla Minus One & The Boy and the Heron At The Japan Society
Godzilla Minus One King Kong. Fat Man and Little Boy. Godzilla was born from giant monster movies and the atomic bomb, in equal measure. After all, it’s
Toonami’s Origins: The Moltar Era | A Retrospective
Let’s take a look at the humble beginnings of one of the most well known blocks in all of USA anime, Toonami.
The Origins of Unico, Tezuka's Lonely Unicorn
A look at the origins of this little blue unicorn and its many incarnations in manga and anime
Review: GAKUEN HEAVEN
It's back-to-school time here at the Manga Test Drive, which in the manga world means attending anything but your ordinary Japanese high sc...
Review: GAKUEN HEAVEN
It's back-to-school time here at the Manga Test Drive, which in the manga world means attending anything but your ordinary Japanese high sc...
New Rock and Happy End – Origins of Japanese Rock
Japanese Rock and Pop music has, through the 21st century, become an undoubtedly global phenomenon with genres like J-Pop, J-Rock reaching
97: The Sickos Get Bootleg Chinese Gameboys
The Sickos finally address the burning topic that's been the talk of the gaming world for weeks: The Anbernic RG351V handheld retro emulation device. Yes, the Sickos purchased…