John’s show and tell of his latest purchases from Mandarake & Suruga-ya ..read more

Question: With the passage of time and changing circumstances, do you believe certain disliked anime have been vindicated? Answer: Less than two generations ago anime was such an unknown and unheard of medium in the United States that fans who were aware of it called it “Japanimation,” as a means of straightforwardly defining what it was. Since the foundation of US Renditions in early 1987 and AnimeEigo in 1988, American viewers have been exposed to a steadily and rapidly increasing amount of Japanese animation, resulting in the perspectives and tastes of American fans evolving and maturing w ..read more

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Until Wednesday, May 22nd at 6pm Japan time, second-hand retailer Suruga-ya is offering free international shipping. That’s a discount that could save American collectors anywhere from $30 to $300 off shipping fees! I took advantage of the opportunity, and recorded a show-and-tell with the items I purchased for my own collection ..read more

Historical shoujo romantic drama is a relatively common subgenre of manga, and one that’s well-done more often than not. Veteran shoujo manga creator Ken Saito’s Tales of the Tendo Family (Tendou-ke Monogatari) premiered in 2014 and told its story through 14 volumes. Although the first book’s illustration doesn’t set new standards for shoujo art, its strong characterizations and brisk pacing make the tale instantly engrossing and highly enjoyable, for select readers. One Peace Books will begin releasing the official English-language translation of the manga on April 9. Tales of the Tendo Fam ..read more

John’s show and tell of his latest purchases from Mandarake ..read more

Question: In light of the recent losses of influential manga artists such as Kentaro Miura, Kazuki Takahashi, Buichi Terasawa, Takao Saito, Kazuhiko Kato, and Kazuo Koike, which current artists do believe will influence the anime medium in the future? This is prominent as pioneers such as Hayao Miyazaki, Rumiko Takahashi, Goh Nagai, and Yoshiyuki Okumura approach retirement. Answer: Given my age, I don’t even know what a “hot take” actually is, but this may be one. Artists and creators had more opportunity to influence the development of the anime industry during the youthful and developmenta ..read more

The number of new anime series made for Japanese television broadcast has steadily increased year over year since the dawn of modern television anime sixty years ago. However, 2023 being one of the most prolific years of broadcast anime ever did not make it one of history’s best years of new anime. By my rough count, 2017 and 2018 both produced 249 new television and web anime. 2023 saw the release of 232 new series and specials, by my estimate. Excluding continuing seasons with continuing episode numbering, and excluding re-releases including the episodic television broadcasts of the Kaguya ..read more

The Cartoonist Kayfabe YouTube channel has published an hour-long face-to-face interview with animator Yutaka Minowa, veteran key animator, character designer of “Ninja Scroll” (1993), and animation director behind the the 2011 Tibetan Dog movie ..read more

Check out the handful of new items I purchased from Mandarake of Japan ..read more