All posts by Evan Minto

Violence Voyager Is Unlike Any Anime You’ve Ever Watched

There’s a good chance you’ve never seen a “gekimation” film before. Independent director Ujicha has made his name on the stuff, but his latest horror film, Violence Voyager, is the first time anyone had created an entire gekimation feature. The term refers to an unusual …Read more »

The Original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series Is As Relevant As Ever

May 24, 2019

Evan Minto

On October 4, 1995, Neon Genesis Evangelion premiered on TV Tokyo and upended the anime world. The series was a revolutionary, once-in-a-generation work, an unusually literate and cerebral take on the mecha action genre. More importantly, it was wildly popular. Despite this, the series disappeared …Read more »

Winter Comiket 2018: My Pilgrimage to the Otaku Mecca

January 31, 2019

Evan Minto

Two hundred thousand. That’s roughly how many people crowded into the Tokyo Big Sight each day for three days late last year for the largest fan convention in the world, Comic Market, a.k.a. Comiket. It’s a number that’s hard to really visualize. By comparison, the …Read more »

Hinamatsuri [Review]

August 26, 2018

Evan Minto

We’re only partway through 2018, but Hinamatsuri is already one of the year’s best anime comedies. It’s hardly the kind of show that usually attracts attention from fans, but the six episodes that have aired as I write this combine an inventive premise with precise …Read more »

Hand Shakers [Review]

March 18, 2018

Evan Minto

I thought I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to review Hand Shakers, but nothing can really prepare anybody for this show. When the first episode premiered in January 2017, fans pounced on it for its abominable visual style, and for good …Read more »

Land of the Lustrous’ Precious Stones

February 10, 2018

Evan Minto

In theory, Japanese animation is a rich medium with a diverse palette of storytelling conventions and character archetypes. And to a large degree this is true—within just the past five years you can find dark fantasy (Attack on Titan), figure skating (Yuri!!! on Ice), and …Read more »

Red Colored Elegy [Review]

December 10, 2017

Evan Minto

Seiichi Hayashi might be one of the most famous manga artists you’ve never heard of. Not only was he a prominent member of the avant-garde art movements of the 1960s and 1970s, but Hayashi also made “geki-ga,” comics that rebelled against kid-friendly manga. Red Colored …Read more »

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled [Review]

November 24, 2017

Evan Minto

The side story nobody asked for Few modern anime endings have prompted the angst and speculation of 2006’s giant robot drama Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. After 50 episodes of political intrigue, wild twists, and Pizza Hut product placement, the series concluded with one …Read more »

[Review] The Dragon Dentist – Complete Collection

October 14, 2017

Evan Minto

Clocking in at just 90 minutes between two 45-minute episodes, The Dragon Dentist is delightfully concise, which should come as no surprise to fans of Tsurumaki's most famous work, the six-episode OVA FLCL. In an alternate retelling of World War II (presumably, though the war …Read more »

Atom: The Beginning [Review]

September 17, 2017

Evan Minto

Remember that famous anime character who was on TV in the US back in the 60s? The little robot boy who flew around and saved folks from bad guys? Yes, I’m talking about Mighty Atom. Er, Astro Boy. Right. Astro Boy’s American renaming has made …Read more »

[Review] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages

March 22, 2017

Evan Minto

If you’ve ever read a Legend of Zelda manga, chances are it was by Akira Himekawa. The duo, comprised of two anonymous female manga artists, has penned nearly every Japanese comic version of the hit video game series since Ocarina of Time in 1998, playing …Read more »

Machine Dreams

March 18, 2017

Evan Minto

As I’m writing this, we are mere months away from the premiere of the live-action Hollywood adaptation of Ghost in the Shell . But before we get to the, ahem, Johansson-ization of Ghost in the Shell , let’s take a look at the anime and …Read more »

[Review] Attack on Titan: Junior High

March 8, 2017

Evan Minto

When Attack on Titan first crashed onto the manga and anime scene, fans were blown away by Hajime Isayama’s detailed world, brutal outlook on humanity, and willingness to kill seemingly important characters. So naturally, as fans wait for more Attack on Titan anime, what’s the …Read more »

[Review] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

March 7, 2017

Evan Minto

Some fans noted that Breath of the Wild , the latest installation in the Legend of Zelda franchise, seems to be the Most Anime Zelda game ever made, but it’s hardly the first time Zelda has gone full anime. For fans of moody heroes who …Read more »

[Review] Gangsta: Cursed

February 8, 2017

Evan Minto

One of the most memorable features of the original Gangsta manga is the unique art style of writer/artist Kohske, which often feels like a mashup of the quirky designs of Natsume Ono ( House of Five Leaves ) and the gritty action of Kouta Hirano …Read more »