Dir. KINEMURA Haruki (New Director) (Cafune) Born in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture in 2001, Japan. After enrolling in Osaka University of Arts, he ventured into the world of independent films as a cinematographer. In 2022, his debut directorial work, "Cafune," undertook a full
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Jun 11, 2023 • Subscribe
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Director Spotlight #11:
Dir. SATO Yoshinori (Shinjuku Tiger) Yoshinori Sato was born in Aichi, Japan on February 1975. After graduating high school, he went to the…
Director Spotlight #12:
Dir. NISHIKORI Yoshinari (The Takatsu River) Film director and screenwriter. Born in January 1962 in Izumo, the birthplace of Kabuki, Sake and Sumo…
News - Chicago Japan Film Collective
Izumo, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life: Episode 0, Nichijou - My Ordinary Life
Director Spotlight #13:
Dir. SHIOTA Akihiko (The World of You) Born in Maizuru City, Kyoto Prefecture in 1961, Shiota has been a regular participant in the…
Director Spotlight #10: “Underdogs”
Dir. KUMETA Tsuyoshi (Underdogs) Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1969. Graduated from the Department of Sociology and Cultural Anthropology at…
Director Spotlight: Takayuki Hirao
One of the most promising young anime directors that has come on the scene during the last decade is Takayuki Hirao [平尾隆之], who first came into my…
Director Spotlight #7: “Resonance”
Dir. TANAKA Toshinori (Resonance) Born in 1981 in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima, Japan, Tanaka is a Filmmaker, a Lecturer at Fukuyama University, and the…
Director Spotlight #2: “Backlight”
Dir. SUDO Ren (New Director) (Backlight) Born in Tokyo in 1996. While studying law at Keio University, he began working as a…
Director Spotlight #6: “NOT BEER”
Dir. NAKAGAWA Hirotaka (NOT BEER) Hirotaka Nakagawa was born in Aichi Prefecture and studied film production at university in Japan. He has worked…
Director Spotlight #1: “Angry Son”
Dir. IIZUKA Kasho (Angry Son) Born in 1990 in Gunma Prefecture. He studied under film director NEGISHI Yoshitaro and screenwriter Masato Kato while…
Director Spotlight #8: “Toward Zero”
Dir. ITO Takashi (Toward Zero) ITO was born in Fukuoka in 1956. While studying in university, his experimental film SPACY(1981), premiered at MATSUMOTO…
Director Spotlight #9: “Twilight Cinema Blues”
Dir. JOJO Hideo (Twilight Cinema Blues) Born in 975 in Hachioji City, Tokyo. Jojo graduated from Musashino Art University and accumulated a career…
Director Spotlight #4: “Hoarder on the Border”
Dir. KAYANO Hirotaka (Hoarder on the Border) Kayano graduated from the Department of Image Design, Faculty of Arts and Engineering…
Director Spotlight #5: “I Quit Being “Friends””
Dir. IMAMURA Ayako (I Quit Being “Friends”) From Nagoya／President of Studio AYA Graduated from Aichi Education University, Faculty of Education／Studied film…
Otome Shimai | Podcast | Community Spotlight #3
If you listen to any otome podcast – make it this one. I love Vka and Vki’s energetic dynamic, and you can clearly see their passion for the…
Miss Hokusai || Summer Film Spotlight #3
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Persona 3 P3 ペルソナ３ Director: Katsura Hashino
Persona 3 is a fun game split between dungeon crawler and visual novel, where the depth of the latter really makes the dull action of the former a…
Indie Spotlight: Speakeasy
Speakeasy is a steamy 1920's romp that takes players on a whirlwind of forbidden, decadent romances in the depths of an exclusive jazz club.
Vendor Spotlight: Colorworld
It’s only natural that at some point I was going to put Colorworld on the list of vendors that I acknowledge in my vendor spotlight. Colorworld is a…
Spotlight: Kumota Haruko
For #BLush801, I focus my spotlight on Kumota Haruko’s works and the different reasons why her adorable works are worth the journey.
Indie Spotlight: Dreambound
Indie dev, Two and a Half Studios recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming mystery boys love visual novel, Dreambound! I played the demo for this game…
Takashi Nakamura spotlight
Yoshinori Kanada might be the most influential Japanese animator, but he isn’t the only one whose work revolutionized anime. Almost as important as him is Takashi Nakamura. Nakamura…
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Shashinkan, The Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors, Catnapped, Fantastic Children
VTuber Spotlight: Ecotone
We had the pleasure of interviewing Ecotone. Learn how they introduced themselves, and what they had to say about their streams.
Animator Spotlight: Hiroyuki Yamashita & Boruto: Naruto the Movie (Part 3 of 5)
Part 1 | Part 2 | < > | Part 4 | Part 5 Kishimoto: After I finished watching The Last: Naruto the Movie [Jump Festa Event, December…
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Artist spotlight: Masami Obari
Among all the members of the Kanada school, one of the most important and original ones is probably Masami Obari. Along with Masahito Yamashita and Hiroyuki Imaishi, he…
Artist spotlight: Yoshimichi Kameda
Yoshimichi Kameda is undoubtedly one of the most important animators of the last 15 years. He is also one of the last really major animators today whose style…
Indie Spotlight: Twin Coves
Hey Blerdy Tribe!! There’s a brand new Kickstarter campaign for the upcoming paranormal mystery visual novel Twin Coves from newbie indie team Wisteria Games, that I just had…
Artist spotlight: Shôichi Masuo
With this third artist spotlight dedicated to Shôichi Masuo, I’ll start analyzing the works of some animators who are not prominently affiliated with the Kanada school or style.…
Character Spotlight: Haruka Inokuma
Chihayafuru is an amazing anime with (soon-to-be) three two-cour-long seasons under its belt. It ought to come as no surprise, then, that it has a huge and varied…
Protected: VTuber Spotlight: Ecotone
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Indie Spotlight: Untold Atlas
Indie dev, Nochi Studios recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming mobile romance game, Untold Atlas!
Artist spotlight: Kazuhiro Ochi
I decided to start this series on the development of the Kanada school with Urusei Yatsura, arguably the moment when its members really became prominent and their style…
Indie Spotlight: Heart Fragment
Heart Fragments follows Xani Green, a young woman whose world is turned upside-down when she discovers that strange supernatural powers.
Vendor Spotlight: Luna Chai
I need to do these more often but I often get so caught up in conventions and anime I get really focused on them and forget. However, recently…
Indie Spotlight – Salvus: Aries
Indie dev, Rosemilk Studio recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming indie otome game, Salvus: Aries. Salvus Aries is a mature slice of death and adventure fantasy otome visual novel…
Indie Spotlight: Guilded Hearts
Indie studio, Gallium Games, a subsidiary of Argent Games just dropped the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming slice-of-life boys love game, Guilded Hearts. I’ve found love on a…
Spotlight: My March Break
I took a month off from working on the website, but here's a bit of what I did on my break. Yes, there's still Unico-related stuff! Enjoy!
Animator Spotlight: Pomu Rainpuff
Character animation has long been considered a weakness of web animators, but there is no proof more conclusive that the world has changed than the greatest, most important…
Indie Spotlight: Belle Automata
Hey Blerdy Tribe!! There’s a brand new Kickstarter campaign for the Jellyfish Parade’s latest title, Belle Automata that needs our support! Belle Automata is an upcoming sci-fi fantasy visual novel developed by Jellyfish…
VTuber Spotlight: Aruri (アルリ)
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Shorts Spotlight: Primitive Flame
Credit: 猴houge on YouTube / @nian4111 on Twitter I wanted to talk about this a week ago, but I didn’t have time until today. In fact, I still…
Vendor Spotlight: Otaku Joe’s
So far on the vendor spotlight, I’ve highlighted great sources for anime merch; however, today let’s talk about a vendor who excels at providing the animes the merch…
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Spotlight: Unico’s Friend, Ragon!
Now that it's the Year of the Dragon, I wanted to create a post focused on Unico's friend, Ragon. Come learn about Ragon's origins and more!
Indie Spotlight: Salty Hounds
Hey Blerdy Tribe! I recently discovered a new Kickstarter campaign for Salty Hounds a bodyguard indie otome game being developed by Korean game studio, Topping Palette. This looks to…
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Hiroyuki Imaishi is no doubt the most important artist to rise out of the Kanada school in the last 25 years: the renewal he contributed to trigger with…
Character Spotlight: Touko Nanami
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Animator Spotlight: Yasunori Miyazawa
From humble beginnings on the beloved Moomin to the big screen under Satoshi Kon, there was one whose drawings carried an unparalleled sense of individuality. In his infinite…
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So as usual when I find a vendor I just really enjoy shopping at I have to give them a shoutout. This was a vendor I went to at…
Indie Spotlight: Red Rebellion
Indie dev, Aikasa Collective recently launched the Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming girls love visual novel, Red Rebellion. Red Rebellion is a historical fantasy romance set in late medieval England in the…