Erased Episode 1: Flashing Before My Eyes Review

Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who works at a pizza parlor. Ever since he was a kid, he has been holding himself responsible for a kidnapping incident. Finally, the time has come for the truth from his past to be revealed…

I haven't seen an anime with such a strong first episode like "Erased" for some time. I have to go on record and say that I'm hooked. This show is off to a great start and if 2016 anime is similar we are looking at a good year. One thing episode 1 does so well is introducing us to our main character Satoru Fujinuma. Satoru is guy that keeps to himself. He's a struggling manga writer who seems to not be able to tap into his full potential. There is something traumatic that is holding him back from unlocking his heart. This is something that he has been putting off for years and he is ready to confront it.

As stated in the synopsis Satoru feels responsible for a student who was kidnap. For the sake of spoilers I won't say anything about the episode. I will say I love how they depict how he carries this weight for all these years. The use of music, camera angles and the way he is presented is spot on. There is also supernatural element which works even for this realistic tone the show is going for. The ending of episode 1 is unexpected and will have you rewatching it for hints of next week. This show so far is taking its characters, plot and world seriously. A touch of slice of life, supernatural and real situations makes this off to a great start.

Final Grade A-/9.0

Sentai Filmworks Licenses "Girls Beyond the Wasteland"

Sentai Filmworks announced its latest acquisition, Girls Beyond the Wasteland, as part of the winter 2016 anime season lineup. Based on the upcoming visual novel adapted by Romeo Tanaka and with character designs by Matsuryu, this anime will follow the exploits of lackadaisical high-school student Buntaro Hojo as he ventures into the realm of dating game development.

The series will be directed by Takuya Sato (Steins;Gate), with series composition by Yuniko Ayana. Character designs for the animation will be provided by Takayuki Noguchi, and production will be handled by Project No.9.

Girls Beyond the Wasteland is scheduled for a January 2016 broadcast in Japan. It will soon be available through select digital outlets, with a home video release to follow.

Only Yesterday Review

 Only Yesterday is a film that truly embodies the spirit of life and how dreams can change or stay the same form childhood. Taeko, a 27 year old woman, lives in Tokyo and decides to go out into the countryside to work as a field worker. Along the way she starts to reminisce about her life as a little girl and starts to question if she completed her dream since childhood.

The story is great and the use of imagery and animation has the style of what we love about Studio Ghibli. The animation is so nice and crisp and I love the watercolors that were used for the past and then the heavy, darker, colors for the present (1982). Also with the past dream sequences, some of the scenes seem half finished, making it more of a dream than reality and shows how life can past by in a blur.

The music is absolutely amazing and it sets the mood for each scene. When the music is not playing its at pivitol moments in time when I am on my seat to hear and to see what happens next. The music helps the mood and brings out such great emotions that also inhances the performance of the characters and actors.

Speaking of which, the voice actors in the movie is also great and one can tell they are invested in the story and really bring each character to life. Daisy Ridley and Dev Patel were amazing and gave such great emotion to the characters and the other characters as well, especially the flashbacks to Taeko as a little girl.

Overall I give this movie a 9/10. A must see if your a fan of Studio Ghibli and this story, for me, hits home to me on a personal level and what a story to have to celebrate 25 years of amazing storytelling. Dreams can be a reality. Take chances and have heart and you will see it come true. Anime Rules!!!

Daisy Ridley voices Studio Ghibli's ONLY YESTERDAY

Check out the new trailer for Studio Ghibli's Only Yesterday starring Star Wars Daisy Ridley.  Long considered an unseen masterpiece by critics and fans alike, the film has never before been released in North America. The film will open in New York at IFC Center on January 1 and expand to additional cities February 26.

It’s 1982, and Taeko (Daisy Ridley) is 27 years old, unmarried, and has lived her whole life in Tokyo. She decides to visit her family in the countryside, and as the train travels through the night, memories flood back of her younger years: the first immature stirrings of romance, the onset of puberty, and the frustrations of math and boys. At the station she is met by young farmer Toshio (Dev Patel), and the encounters with him begin to reconnect her to forgotten longings. In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

Written and directed by Studio Ghibli co-founder and Academy Award® nominee Isao Takahata (The Tale of The Princess Kaguya), Only Yesterday is a masterpiece of time and tone, rich with humor and stirring emotion, from one of the world’s most revered animation studios. Critically acclaimed but never before released in North America, the film is receiving a national theatrical release in a new, Studio Ghibli-produced, English-language version in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

Trailer

Interview With Daisy 

Prison School Review

There was a time when the Hachimitsu Private Academy was a revered and elite all-girls' boarding school on the outskirts of Tokyo but a recent policy revision is allowing boys into the student body. On his first day, Kiyoshi Fujino discovers that he's one of only five boys enrolled at the school. Completely overwhelmed by the thousands of girls on campus, the few boys find that their situation is less than ideal.

Chivalry of a Failed Knight to Simulcast Exclusively on Hulu

Sentai Filmworks announced today an agreement with Hulu for exclusive simulcasting of Chivalry of a Failed Knight. Episodes will be available to stream for Hulu subscribers for $7.99 per month with limited commercials and $11.99 per month with no commercials. 

Each episode of Chivalry of a Failed Knight will stream exclusively on Hulu during the first week of simulcast with free-to-user streaming available one week later. Simulcasting is slated to begin October 3, 2015.

Based on a series of light novels by Riku Misora, Chivalry of a Failed Knight takes place in a world where human knights can materialize weapons from their souls. The story follows a knight who is widely considered a failure by those around him, and his struggle toward mastery of his weapon.

Netflix to Premiere Popular Anime Manga AJIN: A Demi-Human to Global Audience in First of its Kind Deal

Netflix and Polygon Pictures together announce the world’s leading Internet TV network will be the global home of the upcoming Anime series, AJIN: Demi-Human. Netflix members in Japan will be able to watch each episode of the series just 3 days after the original linear air date. All episodes of the series will premiere at once in regions Netflix currently operates outside of Japan in mid-2016.

 Based on the manga by Gamon Sakurai, AJIN: Demi-Human, published by KODANSHA Ltd., is about a young high-school student who is hit by a truck and dies only to discover that he is, in fact, demi-human, an “Ajin.” What he finds are dozens of others who are also Ajins; all of whom are being hunted and trying to survive.

 This deal marks a milestone in how Anime is distributed on a global scale giving quicker and more efficient access to great Anime titles to Netflix members and fans around the world at the same time. AJIN: Demi-Human is the latest Anime title from Polygon Pictures to premiere exclusively on Netflix outside of Japanese broadcast with Knights of Sidonia premiering last summer to strong fanfare.