Anime Archives - Page 17 of 18 - Immortallium's Blog

Manga Adaptations: Taking Advantage of a New Medium

Published February 10, 2020

As a fan of anime and manga, my time and money are precious resources. Since they are limited, the question becomes “Is it worth experiencing the same story in another format?” The answer is complicated with plenty of exceptions and personal taste.

The first thing to clarify is that I am going to focus on adaptations where the story is practically identical. There are many adaptations where the creators decide to go a different direction to the manga. In these cases, you are experiencing a new story with different plot threads and arcs. Famous examples include the 2003 adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist where the latter half of the show is different from the manga and the 2001 series of Hellsing which featured stories not found in the manga.

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Star Wars’ Impact on Anime

Published February 6, 2020

As the second highest grossing film franchise of all time, Star Wars’ impact on popular culture is unquestionable. What may surprise you though is the scale of Star Wars’ impact on Japanese popular culture and anime.

It is worth noting that Star Wars, from the very beginning, has taken many inspirations from Japan. Star Wars: A New Hope was heavily influenced by the structure, themes and viewpoints of Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (a film I highly recommend Star Wars fans seek out). Beyond that, the Jedi are easily comparable to samurai, the Force to Ki and the famous Darth Vader helmet to a kabuto.

George Lucas originally wanted the star of The Hidden Fortress, Toshiro Mifune, to play Obi-Wan.

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Makoto Shinkai: My History With His Works (And Him)

Published January 23, 2020

I was in a cinema on the night of the 15th of January. The theatre was packed with enthusiastic fans who were eager to see the double bill of Your Name and Weathering With You. It would be the fourth time I had seen Your Name and, of course, the first time I would see Weathering With You. Watching Your Name in the cinema again, though, provoked memories of when I had seen it for the first time in a cinema and how I had compared it to his other works. I’m sure like many people my age, the first…

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Studio Ghibli: What Happened To Them?

Published January 13, 2020

There is no doubt that Studio Ghibli holds a legendary status amongst anime companies. From their first film, Castle in the Sky to their most recent film, When Marnie Was There, they have released, not only some of the best films that anime has to offer but also amongst the best that animation has to offer. From being the first (and, as of this article, only) anime studio to receive an Oscar for Best Animated Feature to being the first animation studio to win Best Picture in the 1998 Japan Academy Film Prize, their legendary status cannot be disputed. When…

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Noitamina

Published January 2, 2020

I love the idea of Noitamina. If you’re unaware of what Noitamina is (animation spelled backwards for one), it started as an anime programming block in 2005 on Fuji TV, one of the major television networks in Japan. Its stated goal was to expand anime’s viewership by producing shows that appealed to audiences outside of the standard anime demographic. As I stated before, I love this concept. I believe that for anime to thrive, we need to expand the demographic to include more people of different ages and genders. The desire to create shows aimed at different demographics also means…

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Animating Western Animation and Anime: The Differences

Published December 16, 2019

I’m sure that as many of you began watching anime, you noticed how different it was from western animation. The content and art style are certainly two notable aspects that differentiate this medium from western animation. However, these are not necessarily unique to anime with a lot of western animation now embracing the content and art style. Instead, I want to focus on the differences in animation techniques and how they give anime a distinct feel. In order to explain how the animation techniques of anime are so unique, I first have to explain the techniques of western animation. Looking…

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CGI Anime: Is It the Future?

Published December 2, 2019

I was browsing the internet when I came across the trailer for the new Lupin the 3rd film. Titled “Lupin the Third: The First”, it is going to be the first Lupin the 3rd film to be animated in 3D CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). As established in “Discotek Media Spotlight“, I’m a big fan of Lupin the 3rd. Watching the trailer, I felt mostly okay with the style of animation (although I feel that they ruined Daisuke Jigen’s character design) but I still had to question the decision of why this film is CG. I wish to start by saying…

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Discotek Media Spotlight

Published November 28, 2019

I’m sure that by now it has become clear that I’m not content with merely watching the most recent media. However, it can be difficult getting my hands on older anime shows and movies. While we have seen various distributors such as Anime Ltd and even Funimation dipping into the classics, I want to bring particular attention to Discotek Media. Let’s start with their origins. Discotek Media was founded in 2005, making them relatively recent by distributor standards, with a goal of releasing vintage anime. Since then, Discotek Media have released a vast amount of series, movies and OVAs and,…

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What is a 10?

Published November 25, 2019

There is a question that always frustrates me a little when I’m asked. If something is wrong with me and I go see a doctor, I’m asked “On a scale of 1 to 10, how is your pain?” This is a very important question for doctors to ask but what bothers me about it is that it relies on the patients interpretation of their own pain. A pain of 5 for one patient could be a 3 to another patient. In that same way, I can sometimes feel that is applicable when it comes to scoring media. Scoring media is…

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The Economics of Anime

Published November 14, 2019

I’m sure that, if you’re an anime fan, the thought of “How does anime actually make money?” has crossed your mind. It’s an understandable question. Starting with a fact that may surprise you, let’s take a look at a list of the TV ratings of animated TV series airing in Japan between October 21st and 27th 2019. If you examine this article, you’ll notice that, while some shows such as One Piece, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia are familiar to anime fans in the west, most of the shows on the list are unfamiliar to western fans. These mainstream…

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Category: Anime