Characters Of Distinction: Motoko Kusanagi July 19, 2017
How the feminist, post-humanist, and deeply human heart of the 'Ghost In The Shell' franchise became, and remains, an icon and a model
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On Older Anime Characters: A Touch Of Gray Would Suit Us Anyway June 9, 2014
When will we see older characters in anime as things other than supporting cast members, comic relief, or objects of repugnance?
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'Boogiepop': The Antibody Has A Voice August 3, 2020
Kouhei Kadono's knotty novels walk us backwards through the tangled stories surrounding a being that arises just long enough to right the world when it has fallen out of joint
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'Bullet Ballet': Shooting High, Aiming Low July 25, 2020
Shinya Tsukamoto's grimy underworld odyssey about a man obsessed with the weapon that killed his girlfriend is more potential than payoff
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'BNA: Brand New Animal': Taming The Beast July 18, 2020
Comparison with 'Beastars' is inevitable, but Studio Trigger's story of man-animal hybrids trying to live in harmony plays it safer and more accessible -- and less intrinsically interesting
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'Kiki's Delivery Service': The Witch Returns To Print July 13, 2020
Newly reissued, the joyful little book that inspired Studio Ghibli's equally euphoric film has a fresh new translation to go with it
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'Tokyo Fist': The Players Of Bloodsport July 6, 2020
Shinya Tsukamoto's blood-soaked, bare-knuckled psychodrama gives us two men in competition for a woman -- but it's the woman who wins
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'Whisper Of The Heart': The First Draft Of Shizuku's Story June 30, 2020
When they talk about "a film for all ages", this Studio Ghibli masterwork about life on the cusp of adolescence must be what they mean
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'Tokyo Godfathers': Three Vagabonds And A Baby June 23, 2020
Satoshi Kon's most "conventional" movie was also his funniest, a coincidence-driven romp through Tokyo's lower depths
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'The Adventures Of Denchu Kozo'/'Haze': Shorter Tsukamoto June 15, 2020
Two short films from Shinya Tsukamoto, now anthologized in the Arrow box set for the director, show off his cheeky-humored and bending-sinister sides
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'Dorohedoro': Black (Magic) Comedy June 5, 2020
Blackly funny, rollicking, and spectacularly animated, the adaptation of Q Hayashida's equally off-the-wall manga is another high point for Netflix's anime coproductions
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Ryo Fukui: 'Scenery' June 1, 2020
All but unknown outside of Japan, this prodigy jazzman is enjoying a renaissance thanks to reissues of his few albums, including this, his striking first
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