Ghost in the Shell by Science Saru Release Date: When Will the Anime Premiere? - Main Image
Ghost in the Shell has gotten lots of adaptations, and soon, fans can expect another one. That’s because Science Saru announced a new Ghost in the Shell anime with a release date window of 2026.
As its premiere is two years away, the anime did not get a proper trailer with footage. Instead, it got an announcement video that features animated clips of the original manga panels, complete with a thumping score.
Science Saru’s Ghost in the Shell Anime Release Date Predictions
Science Saru is perhaps one of the most well-known anime studios right now, especially given its eclectic works.
Aside from Masaaki Yuasa’s films like Inu-Oh and shows like Devilman Crybaby, the studio is also known for producing unique titles like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, The Tatami Time Machine Blues,...
Ghost in the Shell has gotten lots of adaptations, and soon, fans can expect another one. That’s because Science Saru announced a new Ghost in the Shell anime with a release date window of 2026.
As its premiere is two years away, the anime did not get a proper trailer with footage. Instead, it got an announcement video that features animated clips of the original manga panels, complete with a thumping score.
Science Saru’s Ghost in the Shell Anime Release Date Predictions
Science Saru is perhaps one of the most well-known anime studios right now, especially given its eclectic works.
Aside from Masaaki Yuasa’s films like Inu-Oh and shows like Devilman Crybaby, the studio is also known for producing unique titles like Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, The Tatami Time Machine Blues,...
- 5/26/2024
- EpicStream
Japanese film production and distribution company Toho announced on May 23 that it will acquire animation production company Science Saru as a subsidiary. In June, Toho will acquire all shares of Science Saru held by its representative, Eunyoung Choi. Masaaki Yuasa and Eunyoung Choi originally founded the studio in 2013. The studio has produced numerous animated feature films directed by Yuasa, including The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (2017), Lu Over the Wall (2017) and Inu-oh (2022), as well as animated series such as Ping Pong the Animation (2014), Devilman Crybaby (2018) and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! (2020), and others. Yuasa stepped down as president and representative director of the studio in 2020 , with Choi becoming CEO shortly after . Naoko Yamada also directed the anime series The Heike Story (2021) at the studio, as well as the upcoming feature film The Colors Within . Other directors who have worked at the studio include Abel Góngora, Tomohisa Shimoyama and Shingo Natsume.
- 5/24/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
Toho Co., Ltd. announced its acquisition of the anime studio Science Saru on May 23, 2024.
The acquisition involves the purchase of all shares from Science Saru’s representative, Eunyoung Choi, with the studio becoming a subsidiary of Toho effective June 19, 2024.
Through this strategic move, Toho aims to strengthen its animation production capabilities, by leveraging Science Saru’s expertise and resources,
Despite a significant 90% increase in operating income from the anime business to ¥46.2 billion in the latest fiscal year ending February 2024, the company aims to accelerate the growth speed of its anime business with this alliance.
Toho also plans to collaborate closely with Science Saru to enhance its production environment and provide greater creative opportunities for employees and affiliated creators, and to produce high-quality anime content tailored for both domestic and global audiences.
The above image provides information about Science Saru Co., Ltd., an animation production company. It outlines the company’s basic information,...
The acquisition involves the purchase of all shares from Science Saru’s representative, Eunyoung Choi, with the studio becoming a subsidiary of Toho effective June 19, 2024.
Through this strategic move, Toho aims to strengthen its animation production capabilities, by leveraging Science Saru’s expertise and resources,
Despite a significant 90% increase in operating income from the anime business to ¥46.2 billion in the latest fiscal year ending February 2024, the company aims to accelerate the growth speed of its anime business with this alliance.
Toho also plans to collaborate closely with Science Saru to enhance its production environment and provide greater creative opportunities for employees and affiliated creators, and to produce high-quality anime content tailored for both domestic and global audiences.
The above image provides information about Science Saru Co., Ltd., an animation production company. It outlines the company’s basic information,...
- 5/23/2024
- by Ami Nazru
- AnimeHunch
Perhaps no greater summary of the time spent in the world of the duology of steampunk original anime films that is Kurayukaba and Kuramerukagari came from the post-screening greeting at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival: After a suspenseful mystery through the underground of this unusual world, out comes the director in an outfit that would look at home in the film’s shady black market… apprehended by the film’s producer, Yoshida Shinnosuke, wearing a giant mask of the Laughing Mask vigilante group. The Kurayukaba and Kuramerukagari duology is a decade’s culmination of work for independent creator/director Shigeyoshi Tsukahara. The films comes after toiling away at original short animated projects for seven years until a successful crowdfunding project pushed the idea from a dream and concept phase to the films we see today. Fast forward three years and Kurayukaba premiered and won the award for Best Animated Feature at Fantasia in Canada.
- 4/24/2024
- by Alicia Haddick
- Crunchyroll
When a Ping Pong anime series was first announced in early 2014, I had to ask: Why? Taiyo Matsumoto’s manga had already been adapted to film back in 2002. Directed by first-timer Fumihiko Sori with a script by rising star Kankuro Kudo, the film launched the career of actor Shido Nakamura. It even came with songs by Supercar and Boom Boom Satellites. I couldn’t imagine anything better than that. When I learned Masaaki Yuasa was directing the series, I became even more curious – and confused. Yuasa was one of my all-time favorite anime directors (and still is.) His 2007 science fiction series Kaiba changed my vision of what TV anime could be. He would have been a great fit to adapt Yuasa’s epic No. 5 . Instead he was hired to go back over old ground. I didn’t understand why at the time. Now I recognize that of all Matsumoto’s comics,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Adam Wescott
- Crunchyroll
When Adam Changes, a Canadian animated film about an awkward teenager in suburban Quebec, won the Grand Prix at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival (Niaff).
The festival, now in its second year, ran from March 15-20 in Niigata, a port city two hours north of Tokyo.
Written and directed by Joël Vaudreuil, When Adam Changes premiered at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Coming here and meeting so many people, and being able to meet and talk with the other competition directors was a gift in itself,” said Vaudreuil, acceping the award at Niaff’s closing ceremony.
The festival, now in its second year, ran from March 15-20 in Niigata, a port city two hours north of Tokyo.
Written and directed by Joël Vaudreuil, When Adam Changes premiered at last year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. “Coming here and meeting so many people, and being able to meet and talk with the other competition directors was a gift in itself,” said Vaudreuil, acceping the award at Niaff’s closing ceremony.
- 3/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
Mermaid fairy tales have enjoyed lasting popularity since Andersen's “The Little Sea Maid” and La Motte-Fouqué's “Undine”. Recent (unequal) reboots can further attest to this enduring appeal. Nothing surprising when considering the universality of these legendary creatures across civilizations and times. As for Japanese folklore, the Ningyo has gained a significant prominence not long ago through Miyazaki's “Ponyo” (2008). Just a decade later, the director of the celebrated “Mind Game” (2004), Masaaki Yuasa, developed his own rendition, this time in the form of a coming-of-age narrative.
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Kai Ashimoto, a taciturn and disillusioned middle school student, is raised in a small coastal town by a single father in the handcrafted umbrella shop of his grandfather, a retired fisherman. After being exposed for posting music demos online, he agrees to join his classmates, the wannabe Yuho and the carefree Kunio, in a rock band named Seiren,...
on Amazon by clicking on the image below
Kai Ashimoto, a taciturn and disillusioned middle school student, is raised in a small coastal town by a single father in the handcrafted umbrella shop of his grandfather, a retired fisherman. After being exposed for posting music demos online, he agrees to join his classmates, the wannabe Yuho and the carefree Kunio, in a rock band named Seiren,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Jean Claude
- AsianMoviePulse
Science Saru the Japanese animation studio most recently recognized for their work on the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off! anime adaptation, has followed up that project with a new collaboration. The studio has teamed up with Japanese broadcaster Mainichi Broadcasting System , more commonly known as Mbs , to launch a new series of 90-second shorts starting on March 1, 2024 under the banner Science Saru×Mbs Original Short anime Operation! Related: Masaaki Yuasa on Why You Should Never Stop Learning The first of the four planned shorts will be an adaptation of what is considered to be the oldest known chronicle of myth and legend of Japan in the Kojiki , more specifically the tale of Okuninushi and Sukunabikona . The role of Okuninushi will be played by Chiaki Kobayashi, and the role of Sukunabikona will be played by Shiori Izawa, with narration by Rina Sato. These shorts will be inserted at the end of the...
- 2/9/2024
- by Humberto Saabedra
- Crunchyroll
Formed in 1996, Asian Kung-fu Generation have been mainstays in the Japanese alternative rock scene for two decades. And their success hasn’t just been limited to Japan — thanks in part to their performances in numerous high-profile anime opening themes, they’ve made their names internationally as well. To celebrate Crunchyroll’s newly launched Sony Music catalog, we’re spotlighting artists by sharing which anime series they’ve performed OPs and/or EDs and the music videos and concerts available for you to watch! Rather than searching across the internet for Asian Kung-fu Generation’s music, you can watch and listen to them in one place, right here on Crunchyroll. Related: How Anime Led Asian Kung-fu Generation to Being on the World Stage The songs the band has performed have inextricably tied them to the vibes of certain anime and it’s now become hard to picture certain series without Asian...
- 2/4/2024
- by Daniel Dockery
- Crunchyroll
Sometimes, it takes an outsider’s point of view to reveal the peculiarities of traditional belief systems – especially when it comes to religion. This is likely why so many people are fascinated with Japanese artists that incorporate Western religion into their work. From the apocalypse of Neon Genesis Evangelion to the pacifism behind Trigun, there’s a long history of anime and manga borrowing from Christian imagery and beliefs in order to tell engaging stories.
In fact, one of the most successful examples of this special kind of cultural fusion happened back in 1972 with the release of Go Nagai’s seminal manga series, Devilman. Long before the days of similar hell-themed heroes like Spawn and Hellboy, Nagai cooked up a horror/superhero hybrid that managed to turn a demonic outbreak into a terrifying anti-war parable.
Despite the series’ strange artwork and graphic violence, it became a surprise hit amongst shonen fans,...
In fact, one of the most successful examples of this special kind of cultural fusion happened back in 1972 with the release of Go Nagai’s seminal manga series, Devilman. Long before the days of similar hell-themed heroes like Spawn and Hellboy, Nagai cooked up a horror/superhero hybrid that managed to turn a demonic outbreak into a terrifying anti-war parable.
Despite the series’ strange artwork and graphic violence, it became a surprise hit amongst shonen fans,...
- 1/2/2024
- by Luiz H. C.
- bloody-disgusting.com
The official website of the Golden Globe Awards announced the nominations for the Best Motion Picture- Animated on Dec 11, 2023, and two highly acclaimed anime films of 2023 have secured their spots on the list.
The anime films are none other than Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume No Tojimari and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron.
Other animated films that were nominated includes:
Elemental Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse The Super Mario Bros. Movie Wish
Suzume No Tojimari released in theatres across Japan on Nov 11, 2022, while How Do You Live?, released in Japan on July 14, 2023. It became the first ever Studio Ghibli film to get simultaneous IMAX release.
Both the films had had garnered significant global milestones.
Suzume premiered internationally in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 23, 2023, marking the first time an anime film competed in the festival since Spirited Away in 2002. Whereas, How Do You Live? became...
The anime films are none other than Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume No Tojimari and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron.
Other animated films that were nominated includes:
Elemental Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse The Super Mario Bros. Movie Wish
Suzume No Tojimari released in theatres across Japan on Nov 11, 2022, while How Do You Live?, released in Japan on July 14, 2023. It became the first ever Studio Ghibli film to get simultaneous IMAX release.
Both the films had had garnered significant global milestones.
Suzume premiered internationally in competition at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Feb 23, 2023, marking the first time an anime film competed in the festival since Spirited Away in 2002. Whereas, How Do You Live? became...
- 12/12/2023
- by Ami Nazru
- AnimeHunch
Akuma Kun is a supernatural mystery Shōnen anime series. The Netflix series is the 2nd adaptation of the Shigeru Mizuki hit manga series, it also serves as the sequel to the 1989 series. The Netflix series is set 30 years after the events of the original series and it revolves around a boy genius named Ichiro Umoregi, who was raised by demons he investigates cases that are caused by demons with the help of his partner, Mephisto the 3rd. So, if you loved Akuma Kun here are some similar anime you could watch next.
Akuma-Kun
Synopsis: As death loomed over him, Dr. Faust predicted the coming of a new era dominated by demons. Powerless to combat this looming threat, he entrusted his faith to Shingo Yamada, a young boy marked by birth as the chosen warrior destined to fight against evil. To aid them, Faust summoned the hesitant demon Mephisto, forming a binding agreement.
Akuma-Kun
Synopsis: As death loomed over him, Dr. Faust predicted the coming of a new era dominated by demons. Powerless to combat this looming threat, he entrusted his faith to Shingo Yamada, a young boy marked by birth as the chosen warrior destined to fight against evil. To aid them, Faust summoned the hesitant demon Mephisto, forming a binding agreement.
- 11/14/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Castlevania: Nocturne is a spin-off series of the hit series Castlevania. Created by Clive Bradley, the Netflix original series is based on a video game series of the same name. Castlevania: Nocturne is set in 1792, during the French Revolution and it follows the story of Richter Belmont, as he joins forces with hunters and magicians to prevent an apocalypse. So, if you love the Castlevania spin-off series here are some similar anime you could watch next.
Castlevania (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Inspired by the computer game series of the same name, Castlevania is an animated series that centers on Vlad Dracula Tepe (Graham McTavish), who’s attempting to wipe out humanity as retribution for the Church burning his wife Lisa (Emily Swallow) at the stake. It appears that no one can stop the hurricane of destruction that Dracula has unleashed upon 15th-century Eastern Europe. But vampire hunter Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage...
Castlevania (Netflix) Credit – Netflix
Synopsis: Inspired by the computer game series of the same name, Castlevania is an animated series that centers on Vlad Dracula Tepe (Graham McTavish), who’s attempting to wipe out humanity as retribution for the Church burning his wife Lisa (Emily Swallow) at the stake. It appears that no one can stop the hurricane of destruction that Dracula has unleashed upon 15th-century Eastern Europe. But vampire hunter Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage...
- 9/29/2023
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
There is an intricate balance when it comes to animated performances, with animators and voice actors working together to create memorable characters. Remove one of the two elements, and you get a completely different character. Look at Mark Hamill as Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series," Dante Basco as Zuko in "Avatar: The Last Airbender," or Robin Williams as Genie in "Aladdin": These characters work because of the team of animators infusing the characters with life, and because of the unique personality the actors bring to the roles (even if Williams' casting ended up causing a whole lot of problems).
This is to say that fans of "Adventure Time" were disappointed when the spin-off show "Fionna and Cake" released late last month with most of the cast returning to their roles, except one.
Kumail Nanjiani, who voiced a Wish Master named Prismo in "Adventure Time," did not return to voice the character,...
This is to say that fans of "Adventure Time" were disappointed when the spin-off show "Fionna and Cake" released late last month with most of the cast returning to their roles, except one.
Kumail Nanjiani, who voiced a Wish Master named Prismo in "Adventure Time," did not return to voice the character,...
- 9/5/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
To celebrate the release of Masaaki Yuasa’S Historical Rock Musical “Inu-oh”, available on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as an AllTheAnime.com exclusive Blu-ray & DVD Collector’s Edition, from 7th August 2023, we have 2 standard edition Blu-Rays to give away to 2 lucky winners!
Get ready to experience a show that will change history, from the comfort of your living room! Anime Limited are excited to announce that you’ll soon be able to bring home your very own record of Inu-oh, the Golden Globe and Annie Award-nominated 14th century rock opera from anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa. Inu-oh will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as an AllTheAnime.com exclusive Blu-ray & DVD Collector’s Edition, from 7th August 2023.
Based on a novel by renowned Japanese author Hideo Furukawa and inspired by history, Inu-oh blends historical fantasy and rock musicals to tell the story of an aspiring performer shunned because of his unique appearance.
Get ready to experience a show that will change history, from the comfort of your living room! Anime Limited are excited to announce that you’ll soon be able to bring home your very own record of Inu-oh, the Golden Globe and Annie Award-nominated 14th century rock opera from anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa. Inu-oh will be available on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as an AllTheAnime.com exclusive Blu-ray & DVD Collector’s Edition, from 7th August 2023.
Based on a novel by renowned Japanese author Hideo Furukawa and inspired by history, Inu-oh blends historical fantasy and rock musicals to tell the story of an aspiring performer shunned because of his unique appearance.
- 7/27/2023
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Out of all the films I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival, the screening of Tian Xiopeng’s Deep Sea was the only theater experience where I can say my emotional journey mirrored that of an amusement park roller coaster.
The first half of this film was genuinely unbearable to sit through. Not only was it painfully obvious how much the film was ripping off the style and sensibilities of legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki (specifically Spirited Away), but the actual execution of the first half in terms of presentation, animation and humor left me wincing at what I was watching.
All the characters were incredibly over-animated to the point that I couldn’t take anything that was happening seriously. The characters, aside from the main protagonist, were all unlikeable and the film gave me very little reason as to why I should care or sympathize with them. Most importantly though,...
The first half of this film was genuinely unbearable to sit through. Not only was it painfully obvious how much the film was ripping off the style and sensibilities of legendary animation director Hayao Miyazaki (specifically Spirited Away), but the actual execution of the first half in terms of presentation, animation and humor left me wincing at what I was watching.
All the characters were incredibly over-animated to the point that I couldn’t take anything that was happening seriously. The characters, aside from the main protagonist, were all unlikeable and the film gave me very little reason as to why I should care or sympathize with them. Most importantly though,...
- 6/26/2023
- by Timothy Lee
- Uinterview
Makoto Shinkai’s Japanese anime sensation Suzume held strong at the top of China’s box office over the weekend, earning $22.1 million while easily defeating Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Sony’s 65, which both flopped.
Suzume has earned $80.6 million in China, better than any other international film released in the country this year, including U.S. superhero tentpoles like Ant-Man 3 ($39 million), according to box office tracker Artisan Gateway. The film is forecast to bring in over $90 million, which will make it the most commercially successful Japanese anime in China of all time.
Suzume also has earned just shy of $30 million in South Korea and $105 million in Japan. It opens in North America and most of Europe on April 14, providing the latest bellwether for anime’s growing theatrical potential in the West.
Dungeons & Dragons and 65‘s disappointing results continue a streak of poor...
Suzume has earned $80.6 million in China, better than any other international film released in the country this year, including U.S. superhero tentpoles like Ant-Man 3 ($39 million), according to box office tracker Artisan Gateway. The film is forecast to bring in over $90 million, which will make it the most commercially successful Japanese anime in China of all time.
Suzume also has earned just shy of $30 million in South Korea and $105 million in Japan. It opens in North America and most of Europe on April 14, providing the latest bellwether for anime’s growing theatrical potential in the West.
Dungeons & Dragons and 65‘s disappointing results continue a streak of poor...
- 4/3/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)
It is a fascinating thing to watch someone’s history of protest and addiction collide and conspire to hold a pharmaceutical company accountable and expose its parent family as reprehensible. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras profiles the renowned photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her fight through the AIDS and opioid crisis, but this is bigger than a biographical documentary. Through slideshows, interviews, and family videos, Poitras weaves a riveting, heartbreaking interconnected story of generational pain, its influence over the blurry boundaries between life and art. – Jake K-s.
Where to Stream: HBO Max
Hannah Ha Ha (Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky)
Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky’s dryly humorous character study picked up the...
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)
It is a fascinating thing to watch someone’s history of protest and addiction collide and conspire to hold a pharmaceutical company accountable and expose its parent family as reprehensible. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras profiles the renowned photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her fight through the AIDS and opioid crisis, but this is bigger than a biographical documentary. Through slideshows, interviews, and family videos, Poitras weaves a riveting, heartbreaking interconnected story of generational pain, its influence over the blurry boundaries between life and art. – Jake K-s.
Where to Stream: HBO Max
Hannah Ha Ha (Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky)
Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky’s dryly humorous character study picked up the...
- 3/24/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Gkids has snapped up U.S. rights to Ernest & Celestine: A Trip To Gibberitia — the sequel to the acclaimed Ernest & Celestine, which landed a Best Animated Feature Oscar nom in 2014. The decorated producer and distributor of animation, celebrating its 15th anniversary, will put both the original French-language version of Gibberitia and a new English dub in theaters this year.
Related Story Laura Linney Comedy ‘The Miracle Club’ Acquired By Sony Pictures Classics Related Story 'Inu-Oh' Director Masaaki Yuasa On Exploring Undocumented Possibilities For A "Modern Interpretation Of Old Tales" Related Story As The Best Animated Feature Competition Heats Up, Can Netflix Or Another Newcomer Bring Home The Oscar?
Both Ernest & Celestine films are based on the children’s book series by Belgian author-illustrator Gabrielle Vincent. The original helmed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner examines the unlikely friendship between a bear, Ernest (Lambert Wilson...
Related Story Laura Linney Comedy ‘The Miracle Club’ Acquired By Sony Pictures Classics Related Story 'Inu-Oh' Director Masaaki Yuasa On Exploring Undocumented Possibilities For A "Modern Interpretation Of Old Tales" Related Story As The Best Animated Feature Competition Heats Up, Can Netflix Or Another Newcomer Bring Home The Oscar?
Both Ernest & Celestine films are based on the children’s book series by Belgian author-illustrator Gabrielle Vincent. The original helmed by Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar and Benjamin Renner examines the unlikely friendship between a bear, Ernest (Lambert Wilson...
- 3/2/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
By 2007, it was certain animator and director Masaaki Yuasa was going places, after having impressed audiences and critics alike with “Mind Game” and “Kemonozume”. The latter had been awarded the Jury Selection Prize at Japan Media Arts Festival, further cementing its creator’s reputation within the industry and marking him as part of a small group of people who would go on to define the anime genre in the years to come. “Genius Party”, a compilation of twelve animated features, was in many ways a representation of the kind of skill and talent within the industry, with Yuasa contributing “Happy Machine”, which tells the story of an infant and its experiences in the world.
Happy Machine screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam
Having spent his life in a nursery, the baby is used to the structure taking care of everything he needs. However, when it suddenly breaks down, the infant...
Happy Machine screened at International Film Festival Rotterdam
Having spent his life in a nursery, the baby is used to the structure taking care of everything he needs. However, when it suddenly breaks down, the infant...
- 2/9/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Traditionally, the Japanese movie industry, like many others, relies on a few companies controlling the market, with many of its directors and other creative minds learning their craft from working for one of them. While director and animator Masaaki Yuasa started within the same system, during the production of the first completely crowd-funded anime “Kick-Heart”, he founded Science Saru, giving him complete control over his projects. It is certainly an interesting fact to keep in mind when approaching his work at this time in his career, with the aforementioned animated short being a clear indicator how the director would use his freedom. The story of two wrestlers competing in a prestigious prize fight for a large sum of money shows the surreal approach regarding animation and character design, while still maintaining a narrative defined by humour and humanity.
Kick-Heart is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
The story focuses on Romeo Maki,...
Kick-Heart is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam
The story focuses on Romeo Maki,...
- 2/7/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
By Paweł Mizgalewicz
Every fallen rockstar was once a child that just plainly had a ton of fun playing music. As obvious as this sounds, it’s a fact that is not too often mentioned in Western cinema. Whether we are watching another comprehensive biopic or a film about a rockstar that has already hit rock bottom and fully jaded (be it “Last Days” or recent “Taurus”), the fame, success and drugs tend to be a more popular subject than the simple pleasure of making sounds and creating your own thing. Now, if you ever wanted to inject a story with a childlike sense of pure fun, a playful tone and anything-goes attitude, you would hardly think of other directors than Masaaki Yuasa. His story of a rockstar is something else – it is, as he said to the audience after the Rotterdam screening, driven by this “dream of purity”. The...
Every fallen rockstar was once a child that just plainly had a ton of fun playing music. As obvious as this sounds, it’s a fact that is not too often mentioned in Western cinema. Whether we are watching another comprehensive biopic or a film about a rockstar that has already hit rock bottom and fully jaded (be it “Last Days” or recent “Taurus”), the fame, success and drugs tend to be a more popular subject than the simple pleasure of making sounds and creating your own thing. Now, if you ever wanted to inject a story with a childlike sense of pure fun, a playful tone and anything-goes attitude, you would hardly think of other directors than Masaaki Yuasa. His story of a rockstar is something else – it is, as he said to the audience after the Rotterdam screening, driven by this “dream of purity”. The...
- 1/30/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
(Welcome to Ani-time Ani-where, a regular column dedicated to helping the uninitiated understand and appreciate the world of anime.)Streaming has been a true blessing for anime fans. It has made brought previously inaccessible shows to the masses and also allowed for some cool experiments, with studios like Wit and Trigger, as well as auteurs like Masaaki Yuasa to give us deeply weird (and hyper-violent) anime like "Devilman Crybaby" and "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners." On the other hand, in an era where every new anime is instantly available through simulcast, it is rather baffling to see streaming jail become a thing.
Shows that would otherwise be available within hours of their initial broadcast are now held up for months on end, killing all hype. Though Netflix is slightly getter better, Hulu and Disney+ are licensing anime and withholding any sort of information about when they plan to release them, before they just...
Shows that would otherwise be available within hours of their initial broadcast are now held up for months on end, killing all hype. Though Netflix is slightly getter better, Hulu and Disney+ are licensing anime and withholding any sort of information about when they plan to release them, before they just...
- 1/26/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
New Release Wall
“Bergman Island” (The Criterion Collection): Writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve’s seventh feature is graceful and complex, a story about stories and the sometimes fragile connections between partners and friends. A couple travel to Fårö, Sweden, where Ingmar Bergman lived and worked, in order to work on their own respective filmmaking projects. There they discover more about themselves than they anticipated. The Blu-ray includes an essay from critic Devika Girish; a short film, “Bergman’s Ghosts,” made during production by actor Gabe Klinger; and interviews with Krieps and Hansen-Løve.
Also available:
“Black Adam” (Warner Bros): Dwayne Johnson is the DC Comics anti-hero, freed from his tomb after 5000 years, now ready to deliver his own version of justice.
“Bones and All” (Warner Bros): The latest from “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino is a romantic horror film about cannibals in love — it’s as divisive...
“Bergman Island” (The Criterion Collection): Writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve’s seventh feature is graceful and complex, a story about stories and the sometimes fragile connections between partners and friends. A couple travel to Fårö, Sweden, where Ingmar Bergman lived and worked, in order to work on their own respective filmmaking projects. There they discover more about themselves than they anticipated. The Blu-ray includes an essay from critic Devika Girish; a short film, “Bergman’s Ghosts,” made during production by actor Gabe Klinger; and interviews with Krieps and Hansen-Løve.
Also available:
“Black Adam” (Warner Bros): Dwayne Johnson is the DC Comics anti-hero, freed from his tomb after 5000 years, now ready to deliver his own version of justice.
“Bones and All” (Warner Bros): The latest from “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino is a romantic horror film about cannibals in love — it’s as divisive...
- 1/12/2023
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
For Inu-Oh, director Masaaki Yuasa’s main goal was not to accurately depict the past as it is written, but to depict what could have happened. Based on the novel Tales of the Heike: Inu-Oh by Hideo Furukawa, the film follows two outcasts in 14th-century Japan: Tomona (Mirai Moriyama), a blind Biwa player, and Inu-Oh (Avu-chan), a deformed Noh dancer born with a curse. The two discover they have the ability to hear the spirits of the Heike, a clan of warriors whose stories are lost to time, and the pair begin to perform their stories in a new style resembling modern hair metal, which starts to cure Inu-Oh of his curse. The idea of a curse being cured resulting in the main character becoming human again is popular in Japanese folklore, but Yuasa wanted to have a more modern take. Rather than seeking revenge against his father for cursing him,...
- 1/10/2023
- by Ryan Fleming
- Deadline Film + TV
Each December, we invite Notebook contributors to pair a new release with an older film they watched for the first time that year, creating a “fantasy double feature.” In practice, this offers something like a collective viewing diary, speaking to the breadth of moving-image art and the imagination of our writers. Even a quick scroll through this year’s doubles—dreamed up and defended by over 60 Notebook contributors—reveals an inspired bounty. Where else would you find Ulrike Ottinger on a bill with Adam Curtis or Jackass Forever?Our annual poll, now in its fifteenth year, is less about anointing the best than it is about bottling the year’s energy. What unexpected resonances arise between the past and present?CONTRIBUTORSArun A.K. | Jennifer Lynde Barker | Juan Barquin | Margaret Barton-Fumo | Rafaela Bassili | Joshua Bogatin | Anna Bogutskaya | Danielle Burgos | Adrian Curry | Frank Falisi | The Ferroni Brigade | Soham Gadre | Lawrence Garcia | Sean...
- 1/6/2023
- MUBI
Using the awe-inspiring visuals and vocals of Taiyo Matsumoto, Avu-chan, and Mirai Moriyama, director Masaaki Yuasa gives audiences an ode to the power of music in “Inu-oh,” a film retelling the Muromachi period in Japan in a beautiful mix of history and fantasy.
Read More: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023
“Inu-oh,” tells the story of Inu-oh, a child born to an esteemed family but born with an ancient curse that leaves him ostracised.
Continue reading ‘Inu-oh’ Clip: A Beautiful Mix Of History & Fantasy [Exclusive] at The Playlist.
Read More: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023
“Inu-oh,” tells the story of Inu-oh, a child born to an esteemed family but born with an ancient curse that leaves him ostracised.
Continue reading ‘Inu-oh’ Clip: A Beautiful Mix Of History & Fantasy [Exclusive] at The Playlist.
- 1/5/2023
- by Jamie Rogers
- The Playlist
No year in review would be complete without a thank-you to our writers. Time and again, they reminded us that cinema is not only alive and well, but it is also always transforming; the filmmakers and festivals covered here push the boundaries of what we took for granted about the medium.Here’s a quick overview of what we published in 2022—and, for many more excellent pieces, we encourage you to browse our archive using the “explore” tab on the homepage.ESSAYSContemporary Cinema:When Propaganda Fails: Adam McKay's Don't Look Up by Ryan MeehanThe Horse in Motion: Jordan Peele's Nope by Blair McClendonThe Many Faces of Michelle Yeoh by Sean GilmanHall of Mirrors: James Gray's Armageddon Time and Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans by Kelli WestonNameless Energies: Don DeLillo at the Movies by Leonardo GoiThe Voice of a Generation: The Trope of the "Complex Female Character" by Rafaela BassiliHong...
- 1/4/2023
- MUBI
I want to use this blurb to acknowledge a couple of films I’m yet to see that I feel, through a combination of my own personal taste and their critical reception, maybe would’ve made the cut had I seen them this year. The first of which is idiosyncratic anime Director Masaaki Yuasa’s Inu-Oh, a rock opera set amongst 14th century Japanese performers. I’ve been a fan of Yuasa’s bombastic and enveloping style ever since I watched The Tatami Galaxy a few years ago and am dying to see the latest in his ever-growing oeuvre of impressive works. The second film is Kogonada’s After Yang. Anyone who knows me on a personal level will know how much I loved his debut Columbus and to see the filmmaker follow up that up with a quiet, reflective sci-fi sounds too good to miss. That all being said,...
- 12/28/2022
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
How do you be an artist in these trying times? Some of the year's best animated TV shows and movies asked this question, and it's not hard to figure out why. In 2022, animators continued fighting for respect from an industry that doesn't often love them back. Animation helped keep the entertainment industry afloat during the worst of the pandemic, and the people who bring these creations to life deserve more than seeing their projects canceled prematurely, having their work scrubbed from streaming services, and inadequate wages.
After all, while it can be crass, bloody, or just too intense for younger viewers, animation can also provide a break from a stressful world — sometimes simply by reflecting back exaggerated versions of our adult concerns. Some of the best animated productions of 2022 explored identity crises, the difficulty of letting go, the struggle to make art, and the absurdities of everyday living. Here are our favorites.
After all, while it can be crass, bloody, or just too intense for younger viewers, animation can also provide a break from a stressful world — sometimes simply by reflecting back exaggerated versions of our adult concerns. Some of the best animated productions of 2022 explored identity crises, the difficulty of letting go, the struggle to make art, and the absurdities of everyday living. Here are our favorites.
- 12/23/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Series: "Kaiba" (2008)
Where You Can Stream It: Crunchyroll
The Pitch: In the world of "Kaiba," memories are transferable and bodies sell to the highest bidder. A young man named Warp wakes up with no memories and a hole in his chest. Around his neck is a locket holding the photo of a woman he doesn't recognize. Buffeted by the winds of fate, he is cast from body to body across the galaxy as his memory slowly returns. Along the way, Warp encounters rogues, innocents, and ordinary people — a young girl whose family sold her body for food, a corrupt policeman who would die for love, a hapless old lady, the memory-eating Kaiba plant, and the woman in the photo, of course.
The Series: "Kaiba" (2008)
Where You Can Stream It: Crunchyroll
The Pitch: In the world of "Kaiba," memories are transferable and bodies sell to the highest bidder. A young man named Warp wakes up with no memories and a hole in his chest. Around his neck is a locket holding the photo of a woman he doesn't recognize. Buffeted by the winds of fate, he is cast from body to body across the galaxy as his memory slowly returns. Along the way, Warp encounters rogues, innocents, and ordinary people — a young girl whose family sold her body for food, a corrupt policeman who would die for love, a hapless old lady, the memory-eating Kaiba plant, and the woman in the photo, of course.
- 12/10/2022
- by Adam Wescott
- Slash Film
In the early days of the Academy’s animated feature Oscar, there were questions as to whether enough films would qualify each year for the award to be given. Not anymore! This year sees a record number of contenders across a wide variety of genres, styles and audiences, from serious, adult-targeted films (like “Charlotte” and “Eternal Spring”) to boffo offerings from Hollywood’s top toon studios — and that doesn’t even count such anime franchise sensations as “One Piece Film: Red” and “Jujutsu Kaisen 0,” which didn’t submit but further illustrate the vitality of the form.
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
Director: Richard Linklater
Voices: Glen Powell, Zachary Levi, Jack Black
Studios: Minnow Mountain, Submarine, Detour Filmproduction
Distributor: Netflix
A time capsule made possible through a sophisticated blend of 2D, 3D and rotoscope techniques, allows the “Boyhood” director to revive the style of “Waking Life” and his own 1960s Texas boyhood.
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
Director: Richard Linklater
Voices: Glen Powell, Zachary Levi, Jack Black
Studios: Minnow Mountain, Submarine, Detour Filmproduction
Distributor: Netflix
A time capsule made possible through a sophisticated blend of 2D, 3D and rotoscope techniques, allows the “Boyhood” director to revive the style of “Waking Life” and his own 1960s Texas boyhood.
- 12/6/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
.
This article contains IndieWire’s preliminary Best Animated Features predictions for the 2023 Oscars. We regularly update our predictions throughout awards season, and republish previous versions (like this one) for readers to track how the Oscar race has changed. For the latest update on the frontrunners for the 95th Academy Awards, see our 2023 Oscars predictions hub.
Nominations voting is from January 12-17, 2023, with official Oscar nominations announced January 24, 2023. Final voting is March 2-7, 2023. And finally, the 95th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 12 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks.
At the midway point of 2022, here’s the current state of the animated feature Oscar race: Pixar’s “Turning Red” is the early frontrunner, the studio’s “Lightyear” is still a contender after underperforming at the box...
This article contains IndieWire’s preliminary Best Animated Features predictions for the 2023 Oscars. We regularly update our predictions throughout awards season, and republish previous versions (like this one) for readers to track how the Oscar race has changed. For the latest update on the frontrunners for the 95th Academy Awards, see our 2023 Oscars predictions hub.
Nominations voting is from January 12-17, 2023, with official Oscar nominations announced January 24, 2023. Final voting is March 2-7, 2023. And finally, the 95th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 12 and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt. We update predictions through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2023 Oscar picks.
At the midway point of 2022, here’s the current state of the animated feature Oscar race: Pixar’s “Turning Red” is the early frontrunner, the studio’s “Lightyear” is still a contender after underperforming at the box...
- 10/27/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The combination of animation with themes of isolation in the hyper-digital age is proving to be a bountiful match. Anime titans Mamoru Hosoda and Masaaki Yuasa have conveyed this through their dense visual tapestries that have confronted our relationship with online space from both optimistic and pessimistic viewpoints. The flexibility of the animated form allows artists to truly capture the sense of disassociation felt through the limited window of online self-expression. This battle with identity is at the forefront of Richan Li’s animated short Babble Bubble, which sees a young girl detach her head and replace it with whichever animal-based persona her online profile requires. It’s a really fun, playful film that’s also enlightening on the discombobulating nature of social media performativity. Dn is delighted to present Babble Bubble on our pages today and be joined by Li for a conversation which covers everything from the medieval...
- 10/27/2022
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
The Swiss festival runs November 4-13.
The Geneva International Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 28th edition, as well as an honorary award for Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.
The Swiss festival’s international competition includes Alice Diop’s Saint Omer which previously picked up the Silver Lion jury prize at Venice and is France’s Oscar submission for best international feature.
Also competing for the Reflet d’Or award for best film, worth CHF10,000 , is Japanese animation Inu-oh from Masaaki Yuasa. The Japan-China co-production premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand before screening as a special presentation at Toronto.
The Geneva International Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 28th edition, as well as an honorary award for Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.
The Swiss festival’s international competition includes Alice Diop’s Saint Omer which previously picked up the Silver Lion jury prize at Venice and is France’s Oscar submission for best international feature.
Also competing for the Reflet d’Or award for best film, worth CHF10,000 , is Japanese animation Inu-oh from Masaaki Yuasa. The Japan-China co-production premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand before screening as a special presentation at Toronto.
- 10/13/2022
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
In some ways, the first two episodes of "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" are just what you'd expect from a new series in the "Gundam" franchise. There's a powerful robot called a "Gundam" piloted by a child soldier. Space colonies play politics with the lives of ordinary people. There's an impressive amount of 2D mechanical animation, an increasing rarity in the anime industry outside of studios like Sunrise. Most importantly, the "prologue" episode gives the heroine Suletta Mercury a first-hand demonstration of the horrors of war. The original "Mobile Suit Gundam" distinguished itself from its peers by suggesting that giant robot battles could be fought over ideology distinct from good or evil, and that innocent people could be hurt in the crossfire. "Witch from Mercury" is brighter and poppier than its predecessor, but something of that original cynicism remains.
In other ways, though, "Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" is nothing like I expected.
In other ways, though, "Gundam: The Witch from Mercury" is nothing like I expected.
- 10/4/2022
- by Adam Wescott
- Slash Film
Masaaki Yuasa’s showstopping animation reframes the classical performance style as a world of rock gods and cavorting dancers
Anime maverick Masaaki Yuasa’s 14th-century rock opera gets off to the most traditional start possible with some stark Noh-style declaiming. But things quickly get pretty wild: Hendrix-ish behind-the-head lute shredding, phantom samurai breakdancing, giant whale lightshows. Retrofitting medieval Noh as a world of guitar gods and cavorting dancers, Inu-oh has its two disabled lead characters make a psychedelic plea in favour of slipping loose from dominant narratives, told in a fecund patchwork of styles by Yuasa that asserts its own outsider credentials.
Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) and Inu-oh (trans musician Avu-chan) are the Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of Muromachi-era Kyoto. The first is a biwa player who, in the film’s opening section, is blinded by a mystical sword lost in a battle between two clans wrestling over the shogunate two centuries earlier.
Anime maverick Masaaki Yuasa’s 14th-century rock opera gets off to the most traditional start possible with some stark Noh-style declaiming. But things quickly get pretty wild: Hendrix-ish behind-the-head lute shredding, phantom samurai breakdancing, giant whale lightshows. Retrofitting medieval Noh as a world of guitar gods and cavorting dancers, Inu-oh has its two disabled lead characters make a psychedelic plea in favour of slipping loose from dominant narratives, told in a fecund patchwork of styles by Yuasa that asserts its own outsider credentials.
Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) and Inu-oh (trans musician Avu-chan) are the Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of Muromachi-era Kyoto. The first is a biwa player who, in the film’s opening section, is blinded by a mystical sword lost in a battle between two clans wrestling over the shogunate two centuries earlier.
- 9/27/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
In 18 days, I will be in Spain. In 21 days, the great Sitges festival begins, and the amazing announcements just keep coming. Dario Argento will receive the new Golden Honorary Award, while Quentin Dupieux, Ti West and Masaaki Yuasa will be honored with the Time Machine Award. Added to the previously announced line-up are Ti West's Pearl, Masaaki Yuasa's Inu-oh, Eduardo Casanova's La piedad and Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong’s The Midnight Club, among many others. The Festival will have the honor of receiving a visit from Eva Green, who will be coming to present Lorcan Finnegan's Nocebo. And that's not all! The festival will feature the first two episodes of Mike Flanagan's highly anticipated The Midnight Club, Frances O'Connor's take on the life of...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/15/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Mubi has announced its lineup of streaming offerings for next month and amongst the highlights are a Ricky D’Ambrose double bill, including his new film The Cathedral, as well as a trio of films by Maurice Pialat, Gaspar Noé’s Vortex, David Osit’s Mayor, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, an expansion of their Tilda Swinton series, and more.
Also including films by Tsai Ming-liang, Sky Hopinka, Nacho Vigalondo, Anton Corbijn, and more check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
September 1 – Classical Period, directed by Ted Fendt | Ted Fendt Focus
September 2 – 2 Days in New York, directed by Julie Delpy
September 3 – Timecrimes, directed by Nacho Vigalondo
September 4 – Małni – Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore, directed by Sky Hopinka
September 6 – Mayor, directed by David Osit
September 7 – Friendship’s Death, directed by Peter Wollen | The One and Only: Tilda Swinton
September 8 – Hideous, directed by Yann Gonzalez | Brief Encounters
September 9 – The Cathedral,...
Also including films by Tsai Ming-liang, Sky Hopinka, Nacho Vigalondo, Anton Corbijn, and more check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
September 1 – Classical Period, directed by Ted Fendt | Ted Fendt Focus
September 2 – 2 Days in New York, directed by Julie Delpy
September 3 – Timecrimes, directed by Nacho Vigalondo
September 4 – Małni – Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore, directed by Sky Hopinka
September 6 – Mayor, directed by David Osit
September 7 – Friendship’s Death, directed by Peter Wollen | The One and Only: Tilda Swinton
September 8 – Hideous, directed by Yann Gonzalez | Brief Encounters
September 9 – The Cathedral,...
- 8/29/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Hybrid is probably the word to best suit Michael Arias’ “Tekkonkinkreet”. Based on Taito Matsumoto’s manga “Black & White”, it is the story of Yin and Yang brothers Kuro (“Black”) and Shiro (“White”) as they battle to save their home from adults, greedy bad guys and inner demons.
Tekkonkinkreet is screening at Japan Society
Treasure Town is an island in the middle of the city – a lawless neighborhood that nobody runs, but everybody claims. Children run the streets, to the annoyance of the yakuza; while the police holds little real power. But this is the chaotic order in place. That is until Hebi and his evil empire want to raze Treasure Town to the ground and build an amusement park in the name of profit. This evil force unites the inhabitants against this outsider as they gradually realize the plans in place, and it’s up to out two young heroes to fight back.
Tekkonkinkreet is screening at Japan Society
Treasure Town is an island in the middle of the city – a lawless neighborhood that nobody runs, but everybody claims. Children run the streets, to the annoyance of the yakuza; while the police holds little real power. But this is the chaotic order in place. That is until Hebi and his evil empire want to raze Treasure Town to the ground and build an amusement park in the name of profit. This evil force unites the inhabitants against this outsider as they gradually realize the plans in place, and it’s up to out two young heroes to fight back.
- 8/28/2022
- by Andrew Thayne
- AsianMoviePulse
You just know you’re in for a horrible weekend at the box office when six new movies open in over 250 theaters — two of those into more than 1,500 theaters — along with a major nationwide expansion and a 40th anniversary re-release of a beloved classic, and only two of those eight movies make it into the Top 10.
We’ll get into each of those in a bit, but first, we start with Brad Pitt’s action-comedy “Bullet Train,” which remained in first place for a second weekend with 13.4 million, a pretty substantial 55 drop from its opening last week. It has grossed 54.4 million, so far, with no guarantee it might join this year’s 100 million club.
The animated “DC League of Super-Pets” maintained second place with an estimated 7.2 million, but with one major caveat. According to estimates, the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart animated vehicle only made 20,000 more than Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” in its 12th weekend.
We’ll get into each of those in a bit, but first, we start with Brad Pitt’s action-comedy “Bullet Train,” which remained in first place for a second weekend with 13.4 million, a pretty substantial 55 drop from its opening last week. It has grossed 54.4 million, so far, with no guarantee it might join this year’s 100 million club.
The animated “DC League of Super-Pets” maintained second place with an estimated 7.2 million, but with one major caveat. According to estimates, the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart animated vehicle only made 20,000 more than Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” in its 12th weekend.
- 8/14/2022
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Lionsgate thriller Fall will make an estimated 2.5+ million this weekend at 1,548 locations for a PSA of about 1,618. The audience was broader than it might have been after a company founded by director Scott Mann swapped dozens of f-words, moving Fall from an R to a PG-13 rating.
The firm, called Flawless, launched last year to specialize in foreign-language “vubbing,” for visual dubbing, which uses artificial intelligence to subtly shift lip and facial movements to match words spoken. But in Fall, its first project, the urgency was around English-language expletives by English-language actors during a stressful high-altitude shoot in the middle of Covid. Costly reshoots weren’t an option, nor really were cuts.
Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner play best friends and expert climbers stranded 2,000 feet up atop a rickety, abandoned TV tower. Mann shot Fall independently. “We ended up with a film we were very excited about,...
The firm, called Flawless, launched last year to specialize in foreign-language “vubbing,” for visual dubbing, which uses artificial intelligence to subtly shift lip and facial movements to match words spoken. But in Fall, its first project, the urgency was around English-language expletives by English-language actors during a stressful high-altitude shoot in the middle of Covid. Costly reshoots weren’t an option, nor really were cuts.
Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner play best friends and expert climbers stranded 2,000 feet up atop a rickety, abandoned TV tower. Mann shot Fall independently. “We ended up with a film we were very excited about,...
- 8/14/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
A handful of smaller films will start to test audience enthusiasm for movie theaters without big tentpoles. It’s been a rocky summer for specialty releases, and an uphill climb as arthouses emerge from Covid jitters with franchise films sucking up oxygen and screens. But superheroes are on hiatus.
“There isn’t giant competition from tentpoles,” said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions. “On balance, it’s good. Obviously, if you have Top Gun, it sucks the air out of the marketplace. It’s still better — for the specialty market — to have three or four indies than one giant release. Exhibitors are antsy about the sudden dearth of new wide releases this month and next, but they’ve also been asking for more box office breadth.
“We have seen signs of life in our sector,...
“There isn’t giant competition from tentpoles,” said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions. “On balance, it’s good. Obviously, if you have Top Gun, it sucks the air out of the marketplace. It’s still better — for the specialty market — to have three or four indies than one giant release. Exhibitors are antsy about the sudden dearth of new wide releases this month and next, but they’ve also been asking for more box office breadth.
“We have seen signs of life in our sector,...
- 8/12/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
What Westerners don’t know about Noh — the classical Japanese theater form in which masked dancers gracefully interpret supernatural tales — could easily fill a 12-hour PBS documentary. But who wants to watch that? Certainly not the audience renegade anime director Masaaki Yuasa is after with “Inu-oh,” a rowdy punk alternative focusing on two social rejects whose defiantly original performance style broke all the rules and elevated them to rock-star status, only to be (all but) forgotten by history.
Among the most unpredictable artists of his medium, Yuasa specializes in trippy, off-the-wall anime features such as “Mind Game” and “Night Is Short, Walk On Girl” that recall the work of psychedelic toonsmith Ralph Bakshi at his anti-establishment extreme. Of all the filmmakers now working in Japan, Yuasa is the last one fans would expect to show an interest in the rigorously rule-based world of Noh — until it clicks that his...
Among the most unpredictable artists of his medium, Yuasa specializes in trippy, off-the-wall anime features such as “Mind Game” and “Night Is Short, Walk On Girl” that recall the work of psychedelic toonsmith Ralph Bakshi at his anti-establishment extreme. Of all the filmmakers now working in Japan, Yuasa is the last one fans would expect to show an interest in the rigorously rule-based world of Noh — until it clicks that his...
- 8/12/2022
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Music is transportive to the extremes in Masaaki Yuasa's works. In his 2008 anime "Kaiba," there's a heartbreaking organ scene that inspires a bitter old woman to reminisce on long-lost affection. In "Ride Your Wave," a cheesy love song summons the spirit of a deceased loved one, fleetingly, like an incantation. Yuasa and Science Saru's latest feature cocktail "Inu-Oh," steeped in the 14th century Muromachi period of the ruling shoguns, rolls out rock music that unleashes the restorative power to unlock revelations to mysteries, gives restless ghosts peace through lyrical storytelling, and allow two misfits to assert their place in the world.
Based on Hideo Furukawa's novel "The Tale of the Heike: The Inu-oh Chapters," Akiko Nogi's adapted screenplay kickstarts the film deceptively. At the behest of shady noblemen, young Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) opens an underwater cursed treasure that blinds him and kills his father (Yutaka Matsushige). The...
Based on Hideo Furukawa's novel "The Tale of the Heike: The Inu-oh Chapters," Akiko Nogi's adapted screenplay kickstarts the film deceptively. At the behest of shady noblemen, young Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) opens an underwater cursed treasure that blinds him and kills his father (Yutaka Matsushige). The...
- 8/12/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
.
“Inu-Oh” (screening theatrically from GKids) represents Masaaki Yuasa’s summary statement about animation, music, history, and rebellion. It’s the culmination of his wildly imaginative and deeply compassionate work about honoring marginalized people. He takes everything he’s explored in “Lu Over the Wall,” “Mind Game,” “Ride Your Wave,” and “The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl,” and explodes it in “Inu-Oh.”
The film’s an anime rock opera set in 14th century feudal Japan about the friendship between two cursed musical performers, who serve as historical versions of modern-day stars with theatrical fearlessness: the real-life, enigmatic Inu-Oh (Avu-chan from fashion punk Queen Bee), a Noh dancer who dramatizes the Heike’s slaughter at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and Tomona (Mirai Moriyama), a blind biwa player who chronicles the story in song. But the way Yuasa assaults us with dazzling imagery and musical performance, he comes off...
“Inu-Oh” (screening theatrically from GKids) represents Masaaki Yuasa’s summary statement about animation, music, history, and rebellion. It’s the culmination of his wildly imaginative and deeply compassionate work about honoring marginalized people. He takes everything he’s explored in “Lu Over the Wall,” “Mind Game,” “Ride Your Wave,” and “The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl,” and explodes it in “Inu-Oh.”
The film’s an anime rock opera set in 14th century feudal Japan about the friendship between two cursed musical performers, who serve as historical versions of modern-day stars with theatrical fearlessness: the real-life, enigmatic Inu-Oh (Avu-chan from fashion punk Queen Bee), a Noh dancer who dramatizes the Heike’s slaughter at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and Tomona (Mirai Moriyama), a blind biwa player who chronicles the story in song. But the way Yuasa assaults us with dazzling imagery and musical performance, he comes off...
- 8/12/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“Inu-Oh” was reviewed by TheWrap out of the 2021 Venice Film Festival.
The competition may be fierce, but it’s probably safe to say that Masaaki Yuasa’s “Inu-Oh” is the best feudal-Japanese-hair-metal-demonic-curse-serial-killer-political-tragedy-rock-opera of the year. At least so far.
And if that sounds silly, that’s Masaaki Yuasa for you. The filmmaker is crafting an exhilarating career out of transforming oddball pitches into profound pop art, from the grotesquely beautiful “Devil Man Cry Baby” to the joyously earnest “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!” The stories he tells, like the intense and unhinged animation styles he employs, can barely be contained on the screen, and they have seemingly no interest in conforming to expectation.
So it’s fitting that “Inu-Oh” centers around art that inspires, that challenges, that defies. The film takes place in 14th century Japan, where a young blind boy named Tomona wanders away from his home in search of vengeance.
The competition may be fierce, but it’s probably safe to say that Masaaki Yuasa’s “Inu-Oh” is the best feudal-Japanese-hair-metal-demonic-curse-serial-killer-political-tragedy-rock-opera of the year. At least so far.
And if that sounds silly, that’s Masaaki Yuasa for you. The filmmaker is crafting an exhilarating career out of transforming oddball pitches into profound pop art, from the grotesquely beautiful “Devil Man Cry Baby” to the joyously earnest “Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!” The stories he tells, like the intense and unhinged animation styles he employs, can barely be contained on the screen, and they have seemingly no interest in conforming to expectation.
So it’s fitting that “Inu-Oh” centers around art that inspires, that challenges, that defies. The film takes place in 14th century Japan, where a young blind boy named Tomona wanders away from his home in search of vengeance.
- 8/11/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Inu-Oh (2021).Something strange happens when you watch a film by Masaaki Yuasa. Something strange in the film, and something strange in your mind. It happens on the surface and in the depths, and it works its way from the movements of the film out into the world. It partakes deeply of both Eastern and Western traditions in art, drama, and film—seeming to pull from everywhere while maintaining a focused center. The experience brings to mind Anthony Bourdain’s meditations on his first trip to Tokyo, which he described as transformative, powerful, and violent: “A window opens up into a whole new thing and you think, what does this mean? What do I have left to say? What do I do now?” In Yuasa’s new film, Inu-Oh, this window opens up from the perspective of its two main characters—14th-century musicians who dress like 1970s glam rockers: one who...
- 8/10/2022
- MUBI
Winner of the Satoshi Kon Award for best Animated Feature at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, Masaaki Yuasa’s film has almost instantly attained a cult following. Drawing on stories told about a real historical figure, it address key developments in early Noh theatre and explores the reasons why some artists risk everything to tell forbidden stories in the face of aggressive government censorship. It is cleverly animated, intelligent and full of passion. Unfortunately, its mingling of the repetitive musical style of Noh with modern metal riffs, whilst it seems to please some viewers, will leave others wanting to scream for all the wrong reasons.
People scream at Inu-ô (voiced by Queen Bee singer Avu-Chan) when they see his face. He has no name them, born deformed, cast out to be raised by dogs, hiding his head inside a gourd from which eyes look out at the wrong angles.
People scream at Inu-ô (voiced by Queen Bee singer Avu-Chan) when they see his face. He has no name them, born deformed, cast out to be raised by dogs, hiding his head inside a gourd from which eyes look out at the wrong angles.
- 8/6/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Director Masaaki Yuasa and screenwriter Akiko Nogi’s adaptation of Hideo Furukawa’s novel The Tale of the Heike: The Inu-oh Chapters finishes with a couple screens of text describing its titular Noh performer’s final years of success, despite his name being all but forgotten in comparison to the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu’s personal favorite. It’s why these three have brought the story of Inu-oh to life—to ensure his name, and that of his friend Tomona from Dan-no-ura, a blind biwa-playing priest, won’t disappear again. What better way to do so than a 14th-century anachronistic rock opera set during Japan’s Muromachi period, courtesy two cursed men who dare give voice to the voiceless and subsequently free themselves from the chains that society uses to bind them?
Though the characters exist 600 years in the past, their story begins about 300 years earlier during a war between the Genji and Heike.
Though the characters exist 600 years in the past, their story begins about 300 years earlier during a war between the Genji and Heike.
- 7/31/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
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