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 a lot with tim…
Apr 13, 2023 • Subscribe
More like this
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 – 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 – 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 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 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 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…
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
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…
Mushi-shi Episode 1: A World of Mushi
Japanese folklore abounds with encounters with the unusual – numerous tales of humans meeting yōkai, specters and other beings can be found throughout literature from Japan, from the…
Episode 116, "Mushi Mushi"
On this special episode of The One Piece Podcast we have all Piece Together, all the time. We call out to fans who submitted questions to us and…
Episode 116, "Mushi Mushi"
On this special episode of The One Piece Podcast we have all Piece Together, all the time. We call out to fans who submitted questions to us and…
Manga: Atom
By Shelley Pallis. Atom: The Beginning is a marvellous experiment in retro manga, a retelling of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy in prequel form, narrating all the back-story and…
Learning Japanese Through Subculture: A History
Whenever I go to classes, pubs, or restaurants, friends and classmates often asked me what kind of books I read. I would take out some bunko I’ve been…
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…
1.5 week’s worth of news recap
There was no news recap last weekend, for two reasons: The recap before that had come midweek. Netflix decided to blitz everyone with a new Cloverfield movie completely…
Review—Spirit of Shizen: Japan’s Nature Through its 72 Seasons
Spirit of Shizen: Japan’s Nature through its 72 seasons is a museum catalouge and anthology to accompany the Spirit of Shizen exhibition at the National Museum of Natural…
The Executioner and Her Way of Life Episode 6: Slashing Through History
Lots of action in this episode of The Executioner and Her Way of Life. I’ve been very much looking forward to this one, so let’s see if it…
Mushi-Uta
You know the drill by now. I would never have watched Mushi-Uta had not Mamiko Noto had a cameo in here. Heh. Yup, the sole reason for me…
Atom: The Beginning Volume 1
This first volume gives us a glimpse of many possible trajectories for the story, and the connection to Astro Boy is definitely a strength in its favor.
ATOM: The Beginning Volume 2
Volume 2 manages to build on the first volume and take narrative risks as Six encounters more deadly foes after the conclusion of the robot fighting tournament.
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…
How Odaiba Got its “O”: A Brief Tokyo History
The island of Odaiba is one of Tokyo's major landmark. But not long ago, it didn't even exist. Discover Tokyo history rising from the depths.
Chainsaw Man Episode 1 Storyboards (Fanmade)
In anticipation of the Chainsaw Man anime adaptation releasing later this year, I thought it’d be fun to storyboard the very first scene in the series and turn…
The History of the Seifuku
Seifuku are a staple design of anime. The instantly recognizable sailor school uniform is synonymous with anime girls in otaku's minds, but do you know the history?
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn: A Journey Through UC History
This is a series in which I’ve watched the beginning episodes an infinite amount of times. This series appeared in 2010 when I was in college and going…
Translation check: Ghost in the Shell vol.1.5
I compared the English translation of Ghost in the Shell 1.5 Human Error Processor with the Japanese version and found some questionable parts. I'd like to list them…
Unseen – Mushi-shi Review
For those who don’t know, Mushi-shi is an anthology-style show. It follows (roughly) the travels of Ginko (by trade, the titular Mushi-shi), a man who specializes in dealing…
The History of Anime & Japan
Anime or Japanese Animation (アニメ) is perhaps one of the most influential forms of media in the modern world. It has a history spaning over a century and…
The History of Hentai Manga
Kimi Rito digs deep into the tropes of anime's salacious sister medium, from tracking down the hentai's early manga creators to going back even further to the shunga…
The History of Solo Leveling
With the Solo Leveling Ragnarok webcomic debuting in English this week, it's time to take a look the story of this groundbreaking series
The Untold History of Ramen
Solt, George The Untold History of Ramen: How Political Crisis in Japan Spawned a Global Food Craze Berkeley: University of California Pre...
The Early History of Falcom
This is a video where I talk about the early history of Nihon Falcom, covering about the first 30 years of their output. I've been a fan of…
Books: The History of Sushi
By Jonathan Clements. Eric C. Rath observes that in the anime series Sushi Police, fish are portrayed weeping at the injustices done to them by culinary criminals. Luckily,…
Maybe #1 (Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion, Mononoke, Atom The Beginning)
A little similar to my ‘Abandoned’ themed posts I thought I’d do a ‘Maybe’ in terms of a few shows I’ve come across that I haven’t had a…
●BOOK● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 22: Animation AKIRA Storyboards 2
Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira, Bibliography, Otomo, Animation, Manga, Steamboy, Japanimation,
●BOOK● OTOMO THE COMPLETE WORKS 21: Animation AKIRA Storyboards 1
Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira, Bibliography, Otomo, Animation, Manga, Steamboy, Japanimation,
Hiking through the Wonders of Kamikochi
Besides Yakushima, nothing else compares to the pure colors of this scenery! Kamikochi, located in the mountains of Nagano with a clear river and perfect view of the…
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 Notice Me Senpai
Notice me senpai! Or not... its not that i care or anything Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dirkoin
The History of Tatsunoko – 6 – Repetitions
Without any aim to be comprehensive, this article will follow these developments and focus on two shows: 1974’s Hurricane Polymar and 1976’s Gowapper 5 Godam. Although very different,…
The Unusual Production History of Genocyber
A cult classic in the schlock n’ gore OVA genre, Genocyber took an unlikely road from pitch to production.
Godzilla at the End of History
In a recent article in Forbes, titled The Critics Are Wrong About Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, Senior Contributor Paul Tassi repackages the faux-populism of YouTube gutter pundits…
The Disgusting History Of Ugly Bastards
Want to learn the disgusting history of ugly bastards? #anime #animememes #sus Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dirkoin
Episode 9- The History of Shoujo
Azayan, Summosa and Nikki breakdown the past 100 years of shoujo content, citing significant authors, their works, and other events that shaped shoujo into what it is today.…
The Winning History Of Pachinko Machines
Pachinko machines are and forever will be the hype in japan, but why? Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dirkoin #pachinko #japanculture #japanhistory
The History of Tatsunoko – 5 – Maturities
If one single work were to sum up Tatsunoko’s entire production, it would probably be Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. By far the studio’s most iconic series, it was…
The long history of Digimon Navigators
The NaviCharacter are characters created to help the user to better understand a product. There’s a very old tradition in the Digimon series to have them that was…
The Comic Book History of Comics
It's a comic book, about comic books! That's right, The Comic Book History of Comics tells the story of how comic books became what they...
The Real History of ℝ𝕦𝕝𝕖 𝟛𝟜
A viral tweet made me curious about looking into the history of fanmade adult content, and I ended up deep diving a rabbit hole that goes further than…