KyoAni’s most renowned director Naoko Yamada left the studio she had dedicated her entire career to and is now directing Heike Monogatari at Science Saru—a studio in the midst of labor and creative turmoil. So, what does that mean for all the involved parties?
Maidragon is back. KyoAni is back—in more ways than one, having given free rein to the next generations of creators trained under the studio’s unstoppable mentorship system. All these efforts shared a rallying cry that the studio altogether has adopted after their tragedy: inspiration for the future.
With fifteen years officially in the record books, it’s safe to say that The iDOLM@STER has made its mark within the plethora of industries it’s now attached to. To commemorate this, we’ll be taking a much overdue look at not just the path its 2011 adaptation took to becoming a smash hit, but also the passion that made it all possible in the first place and how that connects to the series’ future.
To bring closure to this special week of KyoAni posts, we’ve recapped how they’ve reacted since the arson attack one year ago: their firm decision to double down on all the positive aspects that had made them so special, the rebuilding moves they’ve already done, and what’s coming for the studio in the future.
KyoAni’s renowned quality is built upon a special culture and many years of cultivating talent in different creative departments. Today we’ll focus precisely on their animation, with a lengthy roundtable featuring their active character design and chief supervision crew up till the arson. Shouko and Kazumi Ikeda, Futoshi Nishiya, Miku Kadowaki, and Akiko Takase had an in-depth conversation about their experiences at the studio, the differences between the role of a chief animation director & a regular supervisor, their mentality…
It’s time to examine Kyoto Animation’s present and future with an interview featuring their current creative leader and the up-and-coming star who looks up to her! Naoko Yamada and Haruka Fujita speak frankly about their beginning at KyoAni, what’s it like for people who aren’t good at communicating verbally to direct anime (a job that’s all about conveying information to staff and viewers!), the role of music in anime, and more.
Our animation awards continue with the aesthetics that have impacted fans and industry members the most: the most inspired art direction and color design, the animation designs that fulfill their goals the best, and most striking compositing to bring it all together!
As part of the healing process and necessary restructuring after the devastating arson attack, Kyoto Animation’s staff blog paused operations after 19 years of daily writing about the employees’ work and personal life. Regardless of what they do with it in the future, we owe a look at their fascinating history in reaching out to fans directly.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba recently had its greatest episode yet, and that means it’s time for a deep dive into its production: its core strengths, some recurring issues, but above everything else, the harmony between different creative departments that makes its highs so spectaculars.
Welcome back to the most special post of the year! As is tradition, we’ve gathered writers from different communities but a shared trait: a love of animation and all it encompasses. The goal, to praise at length the greatest productions and most resonant direction in all of 2018 anime, according to a series of categories. These are our yearly anime awards – the sakugabowl!