While fans tend to think about production circumstances as black and white, Frieren exemplifies what success tends to look like in the real world: a result of resourceful management, delegation of the right tasks to the right people, and ingenuous solutions to tricky situations.
Frieren is, at its best, a story tightly written about time; its passage, how different people perceive it, and the tangible marks it leaves in the world and its inhabitants. Its anime adaptation is a beautiful spectacle, but what makes it truly extraordinary is how it imagines that setting and people beyond the original boundaries, solidifying their existence so that you can feel their aging almost physically.
It’s time for a final look at the greatest animated works of 2022. We’ve gathered commercial and independent animators, directors, designers, writers, musicians, and everything in between to share their favorite works of the year in the Sakugabooru Animation Awards 2022. Welcome to the Sakugabowl!
Bocchi the Rock has been a wonderful mix of ridiculous comedy and compelling character growth. Now that it’s over, though with hopes to return, let’s take a final look at its production and one of the most creative teams that have graced TV anime.
Today we’re bringing you a series of interview translations featuring Bocchi the Rock’s core staff members, talking at length about the appeal they saw in the series, and the drive behind an adaptation that is as inventive as it is technically impressive.
Bocchi the Rock is an outrageous comedy bursting with the bombastic creativity of its young team, and at the same time, it’s also a genuinely compelling coming-of-age story of a deeply dysfunctional girl. This is how its creators have sought to synergize the two sides of the story they found inseparable.
Fall 2022 is a historically loaded season of anime, the result of concentrating essentially a year’s worth of top talent in one single burst through bold and sometimes aggressive management. It more than deserves a deep dive into many of these titles and the teams behind them—the accomplished veterans, very promising youngsters, and experimental artists leading their own projects, as well as the production circumstances behind this madness.
Sonny Boy is an anomaly in commercial media, let alone as a TV anime: a fascinating creator given a blank cheque that he cashed in to explore his philosophical views, mixing cultural touchstones and personal musings into a unique sci-fi story, and tweaking animation production norms to illustrate a singular worldview with unmatched cohesion.