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!
Much has been speculated about the effect of new mainstream platforms storming this industry, with Netflix in particular being sold as a potential game-changer for anime productions. And yet, despite some obvious changes when it comes to content restrictions, the people who make anime have unequivocally explained that they appreciate no improvement in their poor situation. Let’s try to pay attention to them for once.
Before our own write-up for the series, we decided to share the insight of director Masaaki Yuasa on the making of DEVILMAN crybaby: how the project came to be, the way he approached its themes, as well as curiosities about the production itself like the multiple solo key animation episodes. Translation from an original interview by Haruna Yamazaki, published on Buzzfeed Japan.
The Winter 2018 anime season is upon us, and that means it’s time for us to detail which of the many upcoming projects are most likely to deliver on their promises. A usual, we’ll be highlighting the series where interesting premises overlap with creators who can properly handle them, as well as general comments on the health of the productions, and some behind the scenes comments. Titles like DEVILMAN crybaby, DARLING in the FRANKXX and Violet Evergarden were a given,…