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The Beginner's Guide to The King's Avatar
We're not used to smash hit anime coming from China, but they have a bonafide success in The King's Avatar - here's everything you need to know about the phenomenon.
― It seems fair to say that every country has its own basic style or flavor of animation. When we think of Asian animated works, most of us go immediately to anime, the Japanese variant, and it certainly is among the most prevalent and a...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of June 10-16
Attack on Titan races up the charts as the Spring anime season closes out! How did your favorite anime fare in our weekly user rankings?
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings are base...
The Mobile Suit Gundam Films: The Best, The Worst, and What's Worth Watching
Your complete guide to through the best (and the worst) theatrical feature films the Gundam franchise has to offer.
― Spanning 38 years of giant robot battle action and space opera drama, the Gundam franchise has remained hugely popular. It is also, to put it simply, huge. Between TV series, OVAs, and movies, hundreds of hours of anime bearing the Gundam name has been produced. It's a lot to take in,...
Making First Contact with KADO: The Right Answer
While it's not rare to find space aliens in anime, KADO The Right Answer takes a unique approach to extraterrestrial encounters. Paul Jensen explores the history of first contact with the unknown in anime past and present.
― When visitors from another world show up in an anime series, it's usually not a good sign for the inhabitants of Earth. The typical chain of events involves a sudden burst of vio...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of June 3-9
Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul makes a daring break for the top spot, but it has some tough competition on the way! Find out how your favorite shows fared in our weekly user rankings.
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the seas...
Your Complete Guide to the Spin-Offs of Attack on Titan
From prequels to spoofs to even coloring books, we've got you covered when it comes to picking the best Titan side materials from the pile. Theron and Rebecca run down what's worth checking out and what you should skip.
― In a franchise as titanic as Attack on Titan, where is the line drawn between canon and fanfiction? With spin-off media from anime to manga to light novels to choose from, some adhe...
Final Fantasy's 30th Anniversary Event Lives In The Present
Projection-mapping and Amano artwork descend on Yokohama for the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy, but the series' past is conspicuously absent.
― Full disclosure: I'm a retro Final Fantasy fan. I haven't played any Final Fantasy game past FFVI. So I've teamed up with Callum May, who hasn't played any Final Fantasy game before FFVII. Hopefully, we've covered all the bases between us. The Final Fanta...
The Spring 2017 Manga Guide
Looking for new manga to read? Our first-ever Spring Manga Guide has you covered!
Available Now: Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 1 - My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness Vol. 1 - Grimgar Vol. 1 - Your Name Vol. 1 - Tales of Zestiria Vol. 1 - Appleseed Alpha Vol. 1 - Aho-Girl Vol. 1 - After Hours Vol. 1 - Rakugo Shinju Vol. 1 - Re:Zero Chapter 2 Vol. 1 - and much more! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's ...
Available Now: Delicious in Dungeon Vol. 1 - My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness Vol. 1 - Grimgar Vol. 1 - Your Name Vol. 1 - Tales of Zestiria Vol. 1 - Appleseed Alpha Vol. 1 - Aho-Girl Vol. 1 - After Hours Vol. 1 - Rakugo Shinju Vol. 1 - Re:Zero Chapter 2 Vol. 1 - and much more! ― Welcome to Anime News Network's ...
Rakugo Shinju, Kabukibu and The Traditional Arts of Japan
From Touken Ranbu to Kabukibu to Rakugo Shinju, anime has been embracing Japanese traditional arts more than ever. Lynzee Loveridge examines the phenomenon.
― Japan is a country with a very old cultural history, dating back millennia before what we consider modern U.S. history. Those millennia produced a wealth of traditional art forms, ranging from the graceful strokes of shodo (calligraphy) to the ...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of May 27-June 2
My Hero Academia races up the charts as the Spring 2017 season starts to wind down! Find out how your favorites performed in our weekly user rankings.
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these ran...
How Polygon Pictures is Changing the 3D Anime Industry
From Knights of Sidonia to Blame!, Polygon Pictures has led the charge in CGI anime innovation. Callum May explores what makes their production process so unique for the anime industry.
― At 10:00 PM in the Polygon Pictures studio, the lights turn off for the night. Polygon Pictures is like few other animation studios in Japan. In an industry where working overnight is painfully normal, a studio turn...
Spring 2017 Manga Guide: Light Novel Roundup
From Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash to Rokka, there are plenty of light novel series premiering this spring - here's a look at some of the most exciting new titles.
― Light novels, which are roughly equivalent to young adult fiction in the west, are increasingly being used as the basis for both manga and anime series. Luckily for us, there's been an interest in translating and publishing them for English...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of May 20-26
My Hero Academia drops few slots while One Piece rockets up the chart - find out how your favorite shows performed in our weekly user rankings!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings a...
The Games That Defined Platinum's Legacy Are Back
An in-depth look about what Vanquish and Bayonetta - newly resurrected in shiny PC ports - say about the legacy of the legendary company that birthed them, PlatinumGames.
― In certain ways, the story of PlatinumGames is a tragedy. Founded in 2009 by ex-Capcom developers whose credits include the likes of Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Okami, the goal of the new company was to escape that corporate...
The Kick-Ass Women of Attack on Titan
From fearsome warriors to gluttonous goofballs, Attack on Titan's cast is filled with a variety of colorful female characters. Rose Bridges explains what makes its cast of ladies so unique.
― Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Attack on Titan anime up through episode 31, and also vaguely alludes to events from the Attack on Titan light novel "Lost Girls." Since the first season's...
Interview: Silent Hill Composer Akira Yamaoka
The world-famous composer behind the music of Silent Hill discusses his long career making scary games scarier, along with his latest, the score for Let It Die.
― Japanese composer Akira Yamaoka, renowned for his work on Silent Hill's soundtrack, attended this year's Granada FicZone. He's also credited for many other video game scores such as Shadows of the Damned, Lollipop Chainsaw, and Killer Is De...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of May 13-19
Nobody expected the titans to be felled by tanuki - The Eccentric Family slides into #1! See how your favorite shows fared in our weekly user rankings!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these ra...
The Complete Guide to 25 Years of Tenchi Muyo!
After 25 years of OVAs and spinoffs, is there "no need for Tenchi" after all? Theron Martin runs down the franchise history and what still stands out after so many other harem series have come and gone.
― When it comes to convoluted anime franchises, few short of Gundam can rival the endurance of the Tenchi Muyo! franchise. Over the course of 25 years, it has spawned two main 26-episode TV series, th...
Thunderbolt Fantasy at Sakura-Con: Panels and Interviews
See the talents at PiLi and Nitroplus show off their amazing puppetry from this year's Sakura-Con, as they answer our questions about the future of Thunderbolt Fantasy!
― This year, Sakuracon brought over the folks behind Thunderbolt Fantasy, 2016's fantasy adventure series about chivalry, puppets, and swords. This show was the wider world's introduction to PiLi, the superstar Taiwanese film studio k...
Timeless Classics Told Through Anime
From the Wizard of Oz to Ronja the Robber's Daughter, anime has a long and proud history of taking classic children's books and making them WAY more interesting.
― By this point we're all familiar with the way anime and manga loves Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but as some of you may know, that's hardly the only western children's classic to be adapted for Japanese audiences. Anim...
Interview: In This Corner of the World Director Sunao Katabuchi
We go in-depth with the director of Black Lagoon on his new film, an acclaimed, deeply moving World War II drama that's earning kudos worldwide.
― Director Sunao Katabuchi has worked on an astonishing range of anime. Many Western fans may still be most familiar with him as the director of the brashly ultraviolent series Black Lagoon, but his new opus In This Corner of the World is as far from that as...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of May 6-12
Attack on Titan and Tsuki ga Kirei climb up the charts, and there's a new #1! Find out how your favorite shows performed in our weekly user rankings!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rank...
When Anime Series Jumped the Shark
Even great anime series can't always stay great forever, but some crash from greatness way harder than others. Our team of reviewers shares the moments when the anime they loved fell swiftly from grace.
― For anyone who doesn't yet know, "Jumping the Shark" is a pop culture term for the point in a piece of media (usually long-running stuff like TV series) when it loses the "it factor" that made it go...
First Impressions - Akiba's Beat (PS4)
With a new cast of characters, new enemies and a new story, Akiba's Beat tries to carve out its own identity while hanging on to what made the original games popular. Dustin kicks the tires.
― It's tough to talk about Akiba's Beat without invoking a few other games, both because it's a pseudo-sequel and because it patterns itself after a huge RPG series that just saw the release of a very successful ...
The Real Japan Behind Persona 5
Atlus's newest hit game takes place in a fantastical world of phantom thieves and giant monsters, but its larger-than-life struggles are based on many realities of life in Japan. Elliot Gay details the true crimes behind Persona 5's story.
― Persona 5 opens with a bizarre bit of onscreen text telling the player that “This story is a work of fiction.” This disclaimer is also voiced, asserting that any...
Interview: Your Name's Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh
The two veterans tasked with dubbing Makoto Shinkai's Your Name into English talk about their experience working on a phenomenon.
― Stephanie Sheh and Michael Sinterniklaas scarcely need an introduction; they're a pair of legendary voice actors and directors with a history of home-run English dubs produced in record time from their home at NYAV Post. Sheh has served up countless memorable performance...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Apr 29-May 5
The Eccentric Family and Natsume's Book of Friends continue to dominate the charts - how did your favorite shows fare in our weekly user rankings?
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these ranking...
The Spring 2017 Anime Preview Guide: Simuldub Edition
The Spring 2017 Anime Preview Guide Simuldub Edition has begun!
Available Now: Sakura Quest - Clockwork Planet - Tsukigakirei - Alice & Zokoru - The Royal Tutor - Suka Suka - Seven Mortal Sins - KADO: The Right Answer - Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor - Love Tyrant - Attack on Titan Season 2 - My Hero Academia season 2 ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2017 Preview Guide! Here's h...
Available Now: Sakura Quest - Clockwork Planet - Tsukigakirei - Alice & Zokoru - The Royal Tutor - Suka Suka - Seven Mortal Sins - KADO: The Right Answer - Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor - Love Tyrant - Attack on Titan Season 2 - My Hero Academia season 2 ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2017 Preview Guide! Here's h...
How Oreimo Made Little Sisters a Big Deal
Oreimo was hardly the first anime to play with themes of incest, so why did it kick off such a little sister phenomenon, leading to shows like Eromanga Sensei today? Kim Morrissy has the answers.
― A young pair of siblings struggle to reconnect after an event that made them drift apart years ago. Despite living under the same roof, they never speak to each other. They live separate lives, ignorant of...
Sakura-Con: Hiroshi Nagahama & The Reflection
The ambitious director of Mushi-Shi unveils his newest project, a Western-styled superhero anime collaboration with Stan Lee! Learn more about "The Reflection", airing this July.
― Director Hiroshi Nagahama is best known to Western audiences for working on critical and fan favorites like The Flowers of Evil, Mushi-shi, and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Perhaps less known is the man's love of American com...
Living Swords and Pretty Boys: What Is Touken Ranbu?
It's a hugely popular mobile game, a manga,and not one but TWO anime series - but what exactly IS Touken Ranbu? We interviewed the men behind the phenomenon to find out.
― Tōken Ranbu first caught my attention in the last few days of 2014 as an obvious response to the popularity of DMM's other title, Kantai Collection. The trend of turning inanimate objects into attractive characters was just hittin...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Weeks of Apr 1-28
You've voted on the best and worst of the Spring 2017 anime season so far, and the results are in! Find out how your favorite anime fared in our weekly user rankings!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in min...
Q&A: Legendary Mangaka Kenichi Sonoda
The man behind Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean and some of the most iconic designs in anime & manga candidly discusses his life and career in a Q&A session at Sakuracon.
― Manga creator and character designer Kenichi Sonoda is well known to anime viewers who joined the fandom is the late 80s and early 90s. His signature style touched some of the era's most popular works including Bubblegum Crisis, which i...
The Art of Closed Captioning
Closed captioning the mountains of anime you see on streaming services is no small task; Justin Sevakis explains what goes in to making sure people can read their anime.
― For years, dubbed anime programming has been shown on video streaming services in the US – but without closed captioning for the hearing impaired. While both anime publishers and streaming providers knew that this wasn't ideal for ...
Interview: CoMix Wave's Koichiro Ito
Koichiro Ito has been there with Makoto Shinkai on every one of his films since 2003. We asked him what it was like working with Shinkai, and if success will change CoMix Wave.
― Producer Koichiro Ito has been working alongside director Makoto Shinkai at CoMix Wave Films Inc. for more than a decade. He's been there, deep inside the creative process, for each one of Shinkai's films since Voices of A D...
The Biggest Animated Moments of Winter 2017
Now that the winter 2017 anime season has had time to settle, it's time to run through the finest moments of animation from the season! Kevin Cirugeda will be your guide.
― It's been a few weeks since most winter 2017 TV anime offerings came to an end. And that means we're due a rundown of the titles that stood out from an animation standpoint – not just the series with the most movement, but the mos...
Persona 5 Versus Authority
Persona 5 drops the usual trappings of heroism, instead presenting a world of thieves and underdogs taking on corrupt authority figures. Gabriella Ekens explores what makes Persona 5's story so different.
― If you'd been following Persona 5 at all before release, you might have heard the developers throwing around a certain word: “picaresque.” Since this is a literary term, I was surprised to see it ...
Berserk: Why Griffith Is the Perfect Villain
Did the infamous villain behind the Eclipse take a wrong turn on his path to glory, or was he always fated to go down such a monstrous road? Anne Lauenroth explains what makes Griffith such a fascinating demon.
― Editor's note: Originally this article was called "Griffith Did Nothing Wrong", and it was a tongue-in-cheek clickbait title that was a bad choice; not only did it misrepresent the content ...
How Online Animators are Revolutionizing Anime
Japan's "web generation" of animators have wildly changed the anime production process, taking web animation to a global scale. Callum May of the Canipa Effect asks these up-and-coming talents about their inspirations.
― Go to animation school. Draw in-between frames for 3 years. Become a key animator. Earn a “living”. This is the generic pathway for someone hoping to make it big within the anime ind...
Anime Spotlight - ID-0
Alliance Academy student Maya Mikuri runs into an accident while handling some I-Machine work—only to be rescued by a ship from Escavate, an Orichalt excavation firm and de-facto band of pirates that pilots I-Machines.
― ID-0 Official Website: http://id-zero.com/ Twitter: @ID_0_anime Trailer Introduction Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting April 9, 2017 Key Staff Director: Goro Tan...
Thirty Years Ago: The Best Anime of 1987
Take a journey back in time with Daryl Surat, back to when many people were introduced to anime through the tentacle demons of Urotsukidoji. What forgotten gems lie sleeping in this long-ago year?
― With the barrage of hotly anticipated anime titles eating up so much of our current attention, does it feel as though much of what you watched even three months ago is a distant memory? It's hard to keep ...
Anime Spotlight - Alice & Zoroku
An emotional science fiction fantasy story about finding something precious once forgotten.
― Alice & Zoroku Official Website: http://www.alicetozouroku.com/ Twitter: @alicetozouroku Trailer Introduction Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting April 2, 2017 Streaming available at: Crunchyroll Key Staff Director: Katsushi Sakurabi (Lunar Legend Tsukihime, Gunparade March) Series Composi...
The Best and Worst of the Winter 2017 Season
Our final user rankings are in for the Winter 2017 anime season - which of your favorite shows made it to the top of the list?
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how p...
Finding Anime on Netflix
Netflix has fully entered the anime simulcast market, but their unique way of staggering releases makes it easy to forget what they have to offer. Theron Martin breaks down what's available and what's worth watching!
― With more than 49 million subscribers in the U.S. alone and more than 93 million worldwide, Netflix is the undisputed behemoth of the streaming media industry. Its offering of anime co...
The Best and Worst Anime of Winter 2017
As the snow melts and sakura trees begin to bloom, our reviews team runs down their picks for the best (and worst) anime of this past season - and we can't wait to hear yours too!
― The Winter 2017 anime season is winding to a close, and that means it's time to pick our favorites – and least favorites! Below, our Daily Streaming Reviews team has assembled their choices for the best anime of the last ...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Mar 19-25
Tanya the Evil satisfies with an exceptional episode that sends it shooting up the charts, while Yowapeda slides downhill. Find out where your favorites ranked this week!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in...
Everything You Need to Know Before My Hero Academia Comes Back
If you need a quick refresher on last year's superpowered shonen hit before the second season arrives, Nicholas Dupree's got you covered!
― My Hero Academia, last year's hit shounen action title, is circling around for a second season, and it looks to be coming back with a bang. Boasting a larger episode count, even more big-name animators courtesy of Studio Bones, and a brand new prime-time slot, al...
Everything You Need to Know Before Attack on Titan Comes Back
It's been four long years since Attack on Titan first swung its Colossal foot into anime fandom, so James Beckett's guide will catch you up on season one and hint at what to keep an eye on for season two!
― If there was an entry for “crossover hit” in the dictionary, it wouldn't be strange to see a big picture of Attack on Titan right next to the definition. It's easy to forget if you've been consum...
Let's Visit Akihabara!
Take a tour through hundreds of photos from all the otaku spots in Japan - Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Nakano and much more! From retro games to Kemono Friends to Yuri on Ice to Disneyland!
― I travel to Japan every couple years to help cover AnimeJapan at Big Sight, and we usually try and do photo travelogues while we're there – this year we were far too busy to pull that off (look forward to some special...
AnimeJapan 2017 Blowout Part II
We've got even more photos and news from every corner of the show floor at this year's Anime Japan! Check out all the exhibitions you might have missed!
― Welcome back to Part II of our photo blowout from AnimeJapan 2017 at Big Sight in Tokyo! Let's get right to it, shall we? BanG Dream is one of those franchises where it's unclear if it's an enormous megahit or just something with an extremely aggre...
AnimeJapan 2017 Blowout
The first day of Anime Japan was absolutely enormous, and we're bringing all the biggest displays straight to your eyeballs in our first look at the exhibition hall!
― The first day of Anime Japan at the iconic Tokyo Big Sight building in Odaiba was hectic, with two sprawling exhibition halls of anime-related vendors and producers offering untold amounts of exclusives and displays of both upcoming pr...
PC Impressions - Senran Kagura: Estival Versus
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus has been ported to PC, which means PC gamers everywhere can finally enjoy the "power butt" pose. But is the port any good? Dustin checks it out.
― Senran Kagura is a series of action games where amply-endowed ninja girls beat each other up until their clothes fall off. Chances are good that you've already made up your mind on the series after that one sentence—it's preci...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Mar 12-18
As the top and bottom of the list solidify, it's a race to fill in the great gap between Rakugo Shinjuu and Hand Shakers. Find out how your favorite shows stack up this week!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Kee...
Who Is The Real Motoko Kusanagi?
Ghost in the Shell was adapted into a film radically different from the source material once before - so what makes that adaptation work, and which version of the character is the 'real' one?
― If you look at the credits that have been released for the upcoming live-action version of Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii's name doesn't appear anywhere on it. The clue only that this film is an adaptation ...
PC Impressions: Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
The first two Zero escape games finally come to PC, with a new ending for 999 - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors. Dustin takes these new ports for a spin.
― The Zero Escape games saw an inauspicious start in 2009 with Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors—otherwise known as 999—a mystery slash sci-fi visual novel for the original DS. Coming after a wave of successful adventure game-meets-visual novel hybri...
The Hidden Depths of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid
You might not expect a cutesy slice-of-life anime to take on complicated topics like immigration or non-traditional families, but there's more to this dragon-driven comedy than meets the eye! Gabriel Peralta explains.
― Headcanons and theories in fiction are fan pastimes I've never fully understood. Yes, there's a certain allure in believing that Aladdin takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, or th...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Mar 5-11
The season's winding down but it's not too late for Tales of Zestiria to jump a few spots in our weekly user rankings. See how your favorite shows fared!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these ...
Anime Spotlight - ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.
We've updated the Anime Spotlight for ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. with more characters, trivia and a trailer. If you're curious about this title, check it out.
― ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. Official Website: http://acca-anime.com/ Official Twitter: @ACCA_anime #ACCA_anime Story Characters Trailer Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting January 10, 2017 Key Staff Director: Shingo Natsume...
Scum's Wish: Tainted Teenage Love
From Evangelion to Flowers of Evil, anime is no stranger to the dark side of teenage sexuality, but James Beckett thinks Scum's Wish adds something to this touchy subject that no other anime can touch.
― Nearly 20 years ago, director Hideaki Anno released The End of Evangelion, a feature length capstone to his landmark science fiction mecha anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Though the series and its fi...
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Is Really Special
As you've no doubt heard, ad nauseum by now. But what is it about this game that has people so wild? Dustin spends 20+ hours in Hyrule to figure it out.
― Nintendo made a new Zelda game. It's a good one. You should play it. That's really about as much as anyone needs to hear when it comes to Breath of the Wild, but similar praise came along for Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, both of which are g...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Feb 26-Mar 4
What goes up must come down, especially in the case of Masamune-kun's Revenge. Find out how your favorite shows fared in our weekly user rankings!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these ranking...
Chasing Flowers - Wolf's Rain and Romanticism
Anne Lauenroth explores the themes of postapocalyptic longing in Wolf's Rain, and might just get to the bottom of what the end of the series really means.
― "It is not the treasures [...] that have awakened in me such unutterable longings. Far from me is all avarice; but I long to behold the blue flower. It is constantly in my mind, and I can think and compose of nothing else. [...] It seems as if I ...
One Weekend With Nintendo Switch
This Week in Games' Dustin Bailey recounts his first weekend with the Nintendo Switch, from its concerning lows to its dizzying highs - including the amazing Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
― Nintendo's latest console is exactly what we wanted from the company—at least in theory. A unified platform combining a handheld and a home console, focusing all of the company's development efforts on a single syste...
First Look: Persona 5
It's hard to believe, but after nearly a decade, Persona 5 is finally almost here. Dave Riley files an early look at what to expect from this dark, stylish, wildly anticipated RPG.
― It's hard to believe we're just shy of ten years since Persona 4's release, filled as those years have been with Dancing and Fighting game spin-offs, portable Director's Cuts, and a number of Megami Tensei mainline games...
30 Years of Kimagure Orange Road
30 years ago, an entire generation of anime fans fell in love with the first tsundere - Madoka Ayukawa, from the biggest romantic comedy of the 80s, Kimagure Orange Road.
― You can tell how long an anime fan has been around to how they react to the name “Madoka”. Most anime fans will probably say, “Oh, Madoka Magica, right?” But if you've been around for a while, the first Madoka that comes to mind w...
Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale's Hollywood Premiere
Photos from the premiere of the hotly anticipated Sword Art Online movie in Hollywood, with impressions of the film and a Q&A with the creative team!
― An excited crowd of SAO fans piled into Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood this Wednesday to enjoy the premiere of the Ordinal Scale movie, alongside an impressive slate of guests from all aspects of the franchise for a night on the red carpet. ...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Feb 19-25
Masamune-kun leaps fifteen spots on the weekly chart - how did your favorite shows perform in our weekly user rankings?
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings are based on how people r...
Understanding Sword Art Online
The easiest way to comprehend the hugely popular Sword Art Online series - from its soaring highs to its widely-criticized lows - is by understanding the series' author, Reki Kawahara.
― Love it or hate it, Sword Art Online is arguably the most important light novel franchise of this decade. Over 19 million copies have been sold worldwide as of 2016, 6.5 million of those in translation, making it one...
Kemono Friends: This Season's Sleeper Hit
This gentle kids' show about a helpful serval cat has taken the internet by storm after an unassuming premiere. What makes it so popular?
― What is this season's breakout anime hit? One might think it's the second season of the already popular KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! Or maybe it's one that relies on cute girls to cater to the otaku crowd while delivering gentle comedic fun,...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Feb 12-18
While the top of the rankings start to solidify, plenty of long-running shounen favorites duke it out for a spot in the center! Find our where your favorites landed this week!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Ke...
World War Witches
"Alternate history military witch" is a major thing in anime right now, from Tanya to Izetta to Strike Witches. But if you matched these combat-ready witches against eachother, which witch would dominate?
― Numerous anime titles over the years have to some degree dealt with the militarization of magic, with Fullmetal Alchemist, Strike Witches, and The Legend of the Legendary Heroes being prominent ex...
Your Ghost in the Shell Cheat Sheet
Series expert Brian Ruh takes you on a journey through everything you need to know about the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise - from manga to anime to film - before the 2017 version hits!
― We are currently undergoing something of a Ghost in the Shell renaissance due to the impending Hollywood remake. Regardless of your feelings on the upcoming film, you can't deny that it's a good time to be a Gh...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Feb 5-11
Two monster girl anime vie for a spot in the top five, as the rankings shift around this winter's hits and misses. Find out where your favorites rank this week!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that...
20 Years of Utena Fandom with the Ultimate Superfans
As this revolutionary anime series celebrates its 20th anniversary, the creators of Empty Movement, Utena's oldest active fansite, share their feelings on the franchise!
― The groundbreaking Revolutionary Girl Utena celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and what better way to commemorate its legacy than with two of the biggest Utena superfans in the English-speaking world? Giovanna and Yasha are...
Screaming and Fighting: The Gundam Pilot Quiz
Test how deep your Gundam knowledge goes, and how well you can remember all these oddly-named, screaming, fighting Gundam pilots from across the entire franchise!
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First Impressions: Nights of Azure (PC)
Once a Playstation exclusive, this creature-raising action RPG by Gust hits Steam, and Dustin's a little underwhelmed by it all.
― Nights of Azure is that most rare of video games—utterly benign, yet completely unremarkable. There are neat elements, cool gameplay ideas, and occasional flashes of an interesting setting, but at a handful of hours in it's tough to manage any word beyond “humdrum,” espec...
Interview: Digimon World: Next Order's Kazumasa Habu
The producer of the latest Digimon game discusses why Next Order is important, how to raise Digimon, and why he'd really like to hear from Western fans.
― Digimon World: Next Order came out a little earlier this year, placing it close behind 2016's Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. Yet there's more to Next Order than just another Digimon release. It's part of the Digimon World sub-series, which takes a sl...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Week of Jan 29-Feb 4
The Top 5 starts to firm up as Rakugo Shinjuu solidifies its place atop the list. How did your favorite shows fare in our weekly user rankings?
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings a...
The Top Twenty Original Pokémon Episodes - Part Two
Our mega-countdown of the most memorable first season Pokemon episodes wraps with a few surprises rocketing to the top! Did your favorites make the list?
― 9. "Holiday Hi-Jynx" I mentioned before that early episodes of Pokemon were often more idiosyncratic than the more corporate-managed content we get today, and nothing illustrates this quite like the episode where Team Rocket attempts to steal Chri...
The Top Twenty Original Pokémon Episodes - Part One
As the Pokémon anime celebrates its 20th anniversary, Jacob Chapman looks back on the most memorable entries in its first 82-episode season with a supersized countdown!
― Twenty years ago, TV Tokyo began airing a very strange kids' show called Pocket Monsters, intended like so many kids' anime before and since to advertise video games and trading cards to excitable anklebiters. But unlike so many of ...
The Winter 2017 Anime Preview Guide: Simuldub Edition
The Winter 2017 Anime Preview Guide returns with fresh reviews of this season's simuldub premieres!
Available Now: elDLIVE - Masamune-kun's Revenge - CHAOS;CHILD - ACCA - Interviews with Monster Girls - Fuuka - Saga of Tanya the Evil ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Winter 2017 Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics write up their impressions instantly and they get posted as they g...
Available Now: elDLIVE - Masamune-kun's Revenge - CHAOS;CHILD - ACCA - Interviews with Monster Girls - Fuuka - Saga of Tanya the Evil ― Welcome to Anime News Network's Winter 2017 Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics write up their impressions instantly and they get posted as they g...
The Worlds of Natsume Ono
Entranced by the delicate storytelling and graceful look of ACCA? Then get ready to dive into the incredible worlds of author Natsume Ono on this tour of her many masterpieces!
― Despite the fact that the English manga market has grown substantially since the early days of translation and publishing, it's still a fairly rare occurrence for any one manga creator to see multiple titles released. Even w...
The Best and Worst of the Season So Far: Weeks of Jan 1-28
Our very first ranking of the Winter 2017 anime season is here! From Rakugo Shinjuu to Tanya the Evil, see how your favorite shows stack up!
― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Winter 2017 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings are ...
What's Your Biggest Guilty Pleasure?
From Twin Star Exorcists to School Days, we reveal our biggest guilty pleasures, the quirky, questionable shows we love anyway. What's yours?
― Now, right out of the gate you might be asking, "what is a "guilty pleasure"? Is it a show you love that you acknowledge isn't particularly great? Is it a show you love that everyone else demonstrably hates? Why should anyone feel guilty about enjoying anythi...
Anime Spotlight - Little Witch Academia
Ever since seeing Shining Chariot's magic show when she was young, Akko has dreamed of becoming a witch. In order to make her wish come true, she enrolls at "Luna Nova Magical Academy," a traditional all-girls school where Chariot used to attend.
― Little Witch Academia Official Website: http://tv.littlewitchacademia.jp/ Official Twitter: @LWA_jp Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting...
No Scrubs: The Harem Protagonist Quiz
How many of these hapless harem anime boys can you name without their leading ladies around to help you?
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Interview: Legendary Anime Producer Masao Maruyama
A true titan of the anime industry with a 50-year career, veteran producer Masao Maruyama discusses his latest film, the touching, widely-acclaimed drama In This Corner of the World.
― In this Corner of the World, a period drama about a young woman growing up in the Japan of the 1930s and 1940s, is currently in Japanese cinemas and racking up rave reviews. (Screen Daily, for example, called it "an en...
Is Dragon Ball Super Super Enough?
Dragon Ball Super is finally on Toonami, the floodgates of opinion have opened and fans are split - is this the show fans have really been waiting for? Sam Leach considers the angles.
― It took about a year, but Dragon Ball Super finally has widespread accessibility for the North American public. The subtitled Japanese release was the first wave, proving just how much staying power that the Dragon Ba...
Anime Spotlight - Hand Shakers
High school student Tazuna meets a girl sleeping on a bed in a laboratory. When he touches her fingertip, as if guided by something unknown, he hears a voice coming from somewhere...
― Hand Shakers Official Website: http://www.project-hs.net/ Official Twitter: @hs_p_info Story Characters Trailer Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting January 10, 2017 Key Staff Director: Shingo Suzuki (Coppelion, K: Mi...
How Mari Okada Writes Mobile Suit Gundam
Nobody knew what to expect when anohana scribe Mari Okada took on Mobile Suit Gundam - how has her distinctive, melodramatic style blended with this storied franchise?
― Mari Okada puts a very personal stamp on her work. From AnoHana to Hanasaku Iroha, you can always recognize this prolific author's screenwriting by the hallmarks of extreme melodrama, complicated character relationships, and sometime...
Anime Spotlight - The Dragon Dentist
Nonoko is a newly appointed dentist and her mission is to protect the dragon, the guardian of the country, from tooth-cavity bacteria.
― The Dragon Dentist Official Website: http://www.nhk.or.jp/anime/ryu/en/ Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting February 18, 2017 Available at: NHK World (Television) Key Staff Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki (FLCL, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone) Sou...
Anime Spotlight - Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
After persuading the master to become his apprentice, Yotaro went on to refine his craft and become a star, inheriting the name of Sukeroku III.
― Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Official Website: http://rakugo-shinju-anime.jp/ Official Twitter: @rakugoshinju Official Facebook: @rakugoshinju Story Characters Cast & Staff Gallery On air starting January 7, 2017 in Japan Streaming avai...
The Secret of Studio SHAFT
Widely known for megahits like Madoka Magica and Bakemonogatari, Studio SHAFT have developed a strong and unique reputation among anime fans - but what is it that truly makes the studio unique?
― There aren't too many anime studios with serious "studio reputations" in the broader anime community. Gainax is one of the big names, though their star has faded in recent years, leading into much of their c...
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