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Violet Evergarden is a masterpiece visually and narratively, and that’s how the fans of the series would describe it. And, nobody can blame them as the series is poignantly beautiful. The character development of Violet tugs at the audience’s heartstrings and brings tears to their eyes.

Violet reads Erica and Iris’ letter in Violet Evergarden anime | Credits: Studio Kyoto Animation

There are many scenes in the series that are joyous, sorrowful or a mix of both. One scene in the anime resolved the main conflict before the actual conclusion and its impact left fans stunned. This sort of impact wouldn’t have been possible if the series director didn’t make a change based on her interpretation of the scene.

The Process Behind One of the Most Important Scenes in Violet Evergarden

While Violet Evergarden is full of heartwarming and heart-wrenching interactions between characters, there are some scenes...

Naoki Urasawa’s critically acclaimed psychological thriller, Monster, is a gripping saga of suspense, multifaceted characters, and complex ethical issues. Concurrently, the anime adaptation by Madhouse Studio has also been praised for its faithful representation of Urasawa’s original work. However, bringing the essence of the manga into its anime adaptation wasn’t a piece of cake for the animators.

Johan Liebert from Monster | Credit: Madhouse Studio

Shigeru Fujita, the lead animator for the series, has revealed that bringing Monster to life was far from an easy task since Naoki Urasawa was fully involved in the creative process. From providing strict directives to checking the end product — Urasawa’s contribution along with the dedication of the animation team, brought the story to life.

Shigeru Fujita’s Journey with Monster

In an interview during the 24th edition of the Paris Manga Salon in 2017, Shigeru Fujita spoke at length about the difficulties...

New York, NY—At their industry panel at anime convention Anime NYC, digital manga app Azuki revealed that two series released as digital exclusives on Azuki — Hikaru in the Light! and Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms — will receive full-color print editions from Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, under the Graphix imprint. Additionally, Azuki is adding four new manga series to its subscription: Kotonoha, Ryoji Renjo: Gourmet Detective, Sweeter Than Cake, and Dreamnautes, all distributed by MediBang.

The first volume of Hikaru in the Light! by Mai Matsuda will be published by Graphix in March 2025, and the first volume of Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms by Yoshino Koyoka and TriF will follow in April 2025. The Mecha-Ude TV anime series is produced by TriF and will be released in October 2024.

The new titles from MediBang are now available worldwide (except Japan) on the Azuki website and iOS and Android apps, with select free chapters available.

Disclosure: Three former Crunchyroll employees are among the founders of Azuki. Digital manga service Azuki had a handful of new titles to announce during its Anime NYC panel this weekend, including two for print in a collaboration with Scholastic Graphix. Both Mai Matsuda's Hikaru in the Light! and Yoshino Koyoka and TriF's Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms are getting full-color print releases in English in spring 2025. Read on for more on the print editions, including full-color sample pages, and a look at what Azuki has added from MediBang. Azuki x Scholastic Graphix Hikaru in the Light! by Mai Matsuda Synopsis: Middle-school student Hikaru Ogino is known as the “songbird” of her family’s bath house in Tokyo. But when her best friend Ran — a former girl group idol — invites her to try out for a pop star “survival camp” together, it’ll put her talents to the test. Can Hikaru outshine the...

The family drama is something of a stable within the Japanese film industry, with a long tradition and many big names as well as legitimate masterpieces attached to it. Similar to other cultures, the family drama is far more than a culmination of conflicts within a community of people, but rather a reflection of the political, economic and cultural challenges within a country. Directors such as Hirokazu Koreeda, whose career is basically founded on the perfection of the genre, have created works dealing with traditional family values being questioned because of various trends and developments. Based on an original work by author Akiko Shimoju, director Okayama Chikako wants to aim for similar acclaim with her adaptation of “Disease of Family”, telling the story of three families and their way of facing a particularly taxing obstacle.

Disease of Family is screening at Japan FilmFest Hamburg

“Disease of Family” starts with the story of Fujita,...

In 2020, Naoya Fujita won the Japanese Short Film Competition of Skip City International D-Cinema with “Stay” (2019). Following up in 2022, he directed “Long-Term Coffee Break” (2022) for the New Directions in Japanese Cinema Project. “Confetti” is his first feature film and was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Skip City International D-Cinema Festival and the 90th anniversary of Kawaguchi City. Enough reasons to take a closer look at this exciting new director.

Confetti is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival 2024

Yuki is a high school student living on the road with his father, who is the leader of the Yuhiza Theatre Group. Due to touring, Yuki has to change school almost every month and his life is in constant change marked by various encounters and partings. Coming to town, he is determined to focus on his biggest wish, to become an actor. He is not interested in finding new friends...

30 years after Japanese moviegoers first heard “The Flower of Carnage,” the theme song of Toshio Fujita’s “Lady Snowblood” sung by star Meiko Kaji, it came to mainstream Western audiences via Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.” Kaji’s sweet, clear voice sings about a “woman who walks at the brink of life and death,” and Uma Thurman slices the top off Lucy Liu’s head, where three decades before, her song had soundtracked another grievously wounded, kimono-ed beauty whose last breath is captured in full-face close-up before she staggers to her knees in the snow. The trio of Kaji’s films, including “Lady Snowblood,” playing the Lumière Festival this week, invite us to (re)visit this fascinating icon’s work fresh from the source, and find in it a bristling, innovative vitality often absent from the many movies that cite it as an influence.

1973’s “Lady Snowblood” is probably the...

Making a remake of a beloved classic is always risky business, no matter what genre we are talking about, but in the case of a Bruce-Lee-movie, there is always the obstacle of the leading actor having to compete with the martial-arts legend. Consequently, Jet Li, despite his status within the Chinese film industry and impressive filmography at that point, was hesitant when he was approached to star in a new version of “Fist of Fury”, a feature which cemented the reputation of Lee as one of the major forces within the genre. In an interview with Hong Kong Cinemagic director Gordon Chan explains that, even though he knew about the risks, he always felt the script was something of a weakness of the original, painting a “black-and-white” image of the conflict between Japanese and Chinese. In the end, “Fist of Legend” does a lot more than re-tell the familiar story...