Editor: Samantha Ferreira Anime Herald: You started as a graffiti artist. Did you ever imagine you’d become a professional artist with art books and more? Acky Bright: I couldn’t imagine. My artworks going all over the world was unimaginable to me back then. Anime Herald: How did you move from doing graffiti to more traditional art? Acky Bright: I just kept drawing. It was more my transformation, the development of my drawing, rather than me moving from one medium to another. Anime Herald: What is your favorite medium to work in? Do you prefer digital, or working with your hands on paper? Acky ..read more

Editor: Samantha Ferreira Unknown Outlet: It’s the 20th anniversary of your directorial debut with Witch Hunter Robin. What were some of your favorite experiences working on that project and how do you feel you have grown as a director in the twenty years since then? Shūkō Murase: Actually, it’s interesting that you’d ask that because I’m so busy, and I’ve been so busy lately, that I haven’t had to think back on the fact that it’s the 20th anniversary of my debut. I’d heard that it was popular in the States. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as popular in Japan, it never quite hit. I don’t hear much ab ..read more

Header image credit to Rogue Monkey Media, used with permission Moderator: Having just finished performing in front of a large crowd at Anime NYC, many of whom are Gundam fans, how did it compare to performing in front of a crowd outside of the anime setting? Kawakami Yoohei: I think they like Gundam more than us. (Laughs) I felt the energy from the audience. They were more into it. I thought “We can’t eff this up.” Hiroyuki Isobe: They knew how to have fun. Kawakami Yoohei: Yeah, exactly. Photo credit: Rogue Monkey Media, used with permission Hiroyuki Isobe: So actually, no difference all a ..read more

Editor: Samantha Ferreira MyAnimeList: How are you feeling about the preview screening of “[Kaguya-sama: ] Love is War: First Kiss” later today? Aoi Koga: I’m happy! (Laughs) I’m very excited to watch it myself. Being able to watch it with everyone adds to the excitement. Tatsuya Ishikawa: I don’t know how the overseas fans will react, so I’m very eager to watch their reactions. Yūichirō Kikuchi: The movie is about the holidays. It kind of lines up with the holiday season in New York as well. I’m happy about that for the screening. Anime Herald: Vercreek produced an ED for you. Are you go ..read more

Thank you to Mark McDonald for the Patron article request! Editor: Samantha Ferreira In 1983, Lupin The Third made his North American TV debut on WTBS. Well, not quite – the rascally thief wouldn’t get his crack at home video success in the US for a few more years. But viewers of the short-lived game show, Starcade, could get an early taste of his antics thanks to Stern Electronics. That year, the arcade titan released Cliff Hanger: a cutting-edge laserdisc game that stitched together footage from Castle of Cagliostro and Mystery of Mamo. Released in the wake of Don Bluth’s arcade blockbuster ..read more

Saara Chaudry & Anders Holm (L) Saara Chaudry / Photo Credit: Matthew Bennett (R) Anders Holm / Photo Credit: Disney / Mitch Haaseth Unknown Outlet: Can you break your characters and what they want from the band? Anders Holm: Yes. Saara Chaudry: I play Hannah. Hannah is Nora’s younger sister. She’s framed as her successful younger sister who Nora has had to take care of her whole life, because the parents are no longer in the picture. Hannah’s built this social media empire for herself. She’s a makeup artist, but primarily she’s really just focused on social media. When Nora decides to g ..read more

Editor: Lydia Rivers Content Warning: Some of the sources linked to in this article may lead to art that is considered Not Safe For Work by common North American standards, and some of the videos you may find of Tanaami’s work include strobes, flashes, audio played backwards, and other neurologically demanding stimuli. Much of that content has eroticism as well. If you wish to view a Safe For Work example of Tanaami’s animations, follow the link to Adventures in Beauty Wonderland. While it is one of his less strobe-y animations, those with neurological impairments may want to proceed with ..read more

India isn’t known for great animation – and rightly so. The last major animation blockbuster was released way back in 2014[1], with the box office in India itself dominated by live-action films. But way back in the 1990s – amidst the country’s great economic reforms – a film on Indian mythology graced India, and forever etched itself in the nation’s heart. Indian mythology is one the oldest in the world[2] and houses within itself a treasure trove of epics, tales and stories that can still mesmerise and mystify viewers around the world. Many Indian legends and epics live to this day, in the fo ..read more

Image Credit: Gallery Nucleus Anime Herald: What is your origin story as an artist? Were you always interested in art when you were a child, or was this something that developed later? Yoichi Nishikawa: My maternal grandfather is an oil painter, and my uncle is an art dealer. So from a young age, I grew up in an artistic environment learning how to paint. Anime Herald: Who were the artists who inspired you? Yoichi Nishikawa: The first is my grandfather. After joining [Studio] Ghibli, I was greatly influenced by my mentor Yoji Takeshige. Anime Herald: You passed the Ghibli entrance exam while ..read more

When scrolling through TikTok recently, I noticed that among the fashion videos there was a subsection of NANA Y2K fashion and alt-fashion posts. They laud Nana Osaki as an icon of late nineties and Y2K fashion, and they are absolutely correct. After all, fashion tends to operate within twenty-year cycles, making NANA, a fashion-focused series from the late 1990s/early 2000s, the perfect source of inspiration for the current Y2K trends. Following this twenty-year cycle backward also provides an interesting look at the history of the current trends, for NANA is full of outfits inspired by cloth ..read more