Tuesday, November 05, 2024

Music News

Music

Kenshi Yonezu Announces First-Ever Tour Across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has announced his first-ever U.S., Asia, and European tour dates. His world tour kicks off with two performances in Shanghai on March 8 and 9, 2025...

Theodore Mak - 09-10-2024

Music

NCT DREAM US Tour Starts this Month

South Korean boy group NCT DREAM, formed by SM Entertainment, will be kicking off the first leg of their US tour this month in Los Angeles, California on September 12...

Theodore Mak - 05-09-2024

Music

Lovebites US Tour Begins Soon

We are almost to the beginning of Lovebites' US tour. This is a long-awaited series of performances, and in a way, it's surprising that it took this long. One of...

Brian Lee - 03-09-2024

Music

SiM PLAYDEAD World Tour in America Begins Soon

SiM, who we last saw live at Crunchyroll Expo in 2022, is embarking on a world tour in support of their latest album, the PLAYDEAD World Tour.  They'll be spanning...

Brian Lee - 10-04-2024

Anime News

Anime News

BEYBLADE X at San Diego Padres Games

BEYBLADE X is going to San Diego, offering fans an opportunity to battle at Petco Park during two San Diego Padres home games. The event will take place on August...

Theodore Mak - 18-08-2024

Anime News

Shion Wakayama AVIOT Talk Show @ Anime Expo 2024

Anime Expo 2024 was brimming with excitement, and one of the standout moments was the talk session at the audio company AVIOT’s booth in the Entertainment Hall featuring the talented...

Administrator - 18-07-2024

Anime News

Warner Bros Anime Expo Panel - Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League and Suicide Squad Isekai

Warner Bros. Animation unveiled the Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League trailer at their recent panel at Anime Expo. This highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 film Batman Ninja gave fans a glimpse of what to look...

Salvador Mateos - 16-07-2024

Anime News

FAKKU Guest Spotlight Q&A: Karasu Chan

NOTE: This article is meant for those 18+. Discretion is advised. For this year, FAKKU's guest is none other than Karasu Chan, an artist from Taiwan. Karasu Chan is well known...

Brian Lee - 14-07-2024

Anime News

Studio Bones Gachiakuta Panel @ Anime Expo 2024 Report

Studio BONES held a panel on July 4th, 2024 at Anime Expo. Hosted by Joey Bizinger (aka The Anime Man), fans got to hear about the upcoming anime adaptation of...

Theodore Mak - 12-07-2024

Gaming News

Gaming News

Dying Light: The Beast Announced - Gamescom 2024

It's been some time since we have heard anything from masterminds over at Techland and what is in store for the Dying Light franchise. During Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Techland...

Ken Dubois - 20-08-2024

Gaming News

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage Ai Furihata and Mayu Yoshioka Talk About Being Idols In a Game - Anime Expo 2024

I have always been obsessed with rhythm games and Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage has been at the top of my list. At this year's Anime Expo, Sega brought a playable...

Ken Dubois - 04-07-2024

Gaming News

XSEED Games Announces Anime Expo 2024 Lineup and Hidden Title

XSEED Games has unveiled its plans for this upcoming Anime Expo during the 4th of July weekend.

Ken Dubois - 28-06-2024

Gaming News

Life is Strange: Double Exposure Gets a New Trailer Showing Off Gameplay and New Details

Square Enix has released a new Life is Strange: Double Exposure Trailer revealing everything players want to know about its latest entry in the Life is Strange universe.

Ken Dubois - 13-06-2024

Q01: What were some of the factors that led you to create Studio Bones?

Kawamoto: In 1998 after Cowboy Bebop ended, Masahiko Minami, the producer, let it be known that he wanted to go independent and wanted me to come along. That was the trigger for the creation of Bones. I think he wanted to create something new instead of iterations of existing works and that is why he left Sunrise and became independent.

Q02: When it comes to character designs, in your opinion what are some of the most important factors in creating successful character designs?

Kawamoto: It is difficult to give advice on that point. It would be nice if people could all make designs with the fans in mind that we knew would be popular. That isn’t the case most of the time or even possible when creating a character, but my advice is to raise your antennas to new information and new experiences, and point your antennas in different directions and take in what is around you; process that information. I am always trying to be open to new information in terms of genres especially with regards to the future as technology evolves. Going a mile wide and an inch deep so to speak, to have an idea of how things are changing.

Q03: When you established Bones twelve years ago were you confident that it would be successful?

Kawamoto: So I joined Minami-san in creating Bones because we shared similar thoughts about becoming independent animators. I was not thinking about success so much as what I wanted to do. I was very happy that many members of the Cowboy Bebop team and some of them joined me at Bones. RahXephon had much of the same team as Cowboy Bebop and thus the feeling of what we were creating did not change that much.

Q04: Was he surprised by the success of Cowboy Bebop and the reaction of western audiences?

Kawamoto: Yes, I was. When we made it we had trouble getting a broadcast slot so we weren’t even sure if it was even going to be a hit or not. Considering we were faced with all these difficulties in converting a 26 episode series into a 13 episode series (the original TV Tokyo Broadcast, 26 episodes, would eventually air on satellite in their entirety, but the first broadcast was aborted) the success of the series, even ten years later in and outside of Japan, seems strange, almost surreal. With regards to the sequel -- well, you saw the last scene. There are no plans for a sequel, but I have heard, I am not on the production staff mind you, that there is the possibility of a live action version.

Q05: Could you elaborate on the broadcast slot problem?

Kawamoto: So part of the problem with finding a broadcast slot in Japan was the violence and the drug use, notably in the "Bloody Eye" episode in season one. At the same time, we had the Pokemon shock where a youth was wielding a knife so we had to digitally remove the knife from a particular scene. So the "Bloody Eye" episode was actually episode one but we had to broadcast episode 2 first because of some of the issues. However episodes 1-5 were released in their original format, so in the end that issue was resolved.

Q06: Could you tell us about some of the people that inspired you when you were younger?

Kawamoto: There are many, but it’s not so much the people but the animation they created that inspired me. For example, what Yoshiyuki Tomino and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko did with Mobile Suit Gundam, Hayao Miyazaki’s films, Shoji Kawamori of Macross, and Urusei Yatsura with Mamoru Oshii. It was through their work that I decided to join this industry.

Q07: Gundam 0083 features many people of different ethnicities -- how important is having a diverse cast for you and the way you deal with character development?

Kawamoto: Personally I think that it's just natural, but there are times when we need to create characters that will appeal to a Japanese audience when creating something for Japan. Stardust Memory had a more Hollywood feel to it, so the director actually requested that we include people of many different races. I think we became more aware of that over time, even as Gundam 0083 was made in the style of the first Gundam. I am sorry that I am not familiar with the more recent Gundams so I don’t know what direction they are heading in now.

When doing Gundam 0083, we thought about the kinds of actors characters were representing and based our designs on that. We did the same with Cowboy Bebop.

Q08: How do you approach productions that are originals and those based off of pre-existing works?

Kawamoto: So for Full Metal Alchemist it was actually Yoshiyuki Ito that had the idea. He took the idea to the producers and Bones who then went to Square-Enix who owned the IP. Ito was later made the character designer and animator. Of course there are times when sponsors or creators of a work will approach us about creating a production.

Q09: What are some of the biggest animation changes that you have seen take place in the industry?

Kawamoto: One of the biggest changes was the switch to digital from cells. Digital requires that the widths be the same, thus some of the artistic license of the animators were lost.

Q10: Which style do you prefer?

Kawamoto: I prefer the old cell-style and I believe that the challenge is to bring back what was lost back into digital animation. One of the advantages with digital is that a single animator can check to see how his or her work flows.

Q11: What was your favorite series?

Kawamoto: The Cockpit, an old series of short animations about Axis fighters, is my favorite. It was one of the things that influenced Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop.

Q12: You mentioned before that you based Ed on Yoko Kanno. How do you base a character on a person and have the design reflect their personality?

Kawamoto: The script for Cowboy Bebop originally called for a boy hacker and a girl who always sleeps. The director quipped that he needed the character to sleep like a cat, like Yoko Kanno. I had heard that she slept in the middle of meetings but that she was also genuine and honest. I did not meet her until after Cowboy Bebop production was over. I found it difficult to reconcile the character Ed with the composer of Macross Plus and Escaflowne, but after seeing her fall asleep on a couch I made the connection.

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Oct.15

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Returning for its second year in the San Francisco Bay Area, Anime Impulse arrived at the San Mateo County Event Center on October 12-13. If you're unfamiliar with Anime Impulse...

Oct.09

Music

Kenshi Yonezu Announces First-Ever Tour Across Europe, Asia, and the U.S.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has announced his first-ever U.S., Asia, and European tour dates. His world tour kicks off with two performances in Shanghai on March 8 and 9, 2025...

Sep.05

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NCT DREAM US Tour Starts this Month

South Korean boy group NCT DREAM, formed by SM Entertainment, will be kicking off the first leg of their US tour this month in Los Angeles, California on September 12...

Sep.03

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Lovebites US Tour Begins Soon

We are almost to the beginning of Lovebites' US tour. This is a long-awaited series of performances, and in a way, it's surprising that it took this long. One of...

Aug.20

Gaming News

Dying Light: The Beast Announced - Gamescom 2024

It's been some time since we have heard anything from masterminds over at Techland and what is in store for the Dying Light franchise. During Opening Night Live at Gamescom, Techland...

Aug.18

Anime News

BEYBLADE X at San Diego Padres Games

BEYBLADE X is going to San Diego, offering fans an opportunity to battle at Petco Park during two San Diego Padres home games. The event will take place on August...

Aug.14

Game Reviews

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse (PS5) Review

Everyone’s favorite crime-fighting lagomorph and canine duo are back! Originally released in 2010 by Telltale Games, this remaster brings the graphic adventure to the latest generation of consoles/PCs. This release...

Jul.18

Anime News

Shion Wakayama AVIOT Talk Show @ Anime Expo 2024

Anime Expo 2024 was brimming with excitement, and one of the standout moments was the talk session at the audio company AVIOT’s booth in the Entertainment Hall featuring the talented...

Jul.17

K-pop

EVERGLOW Returns to the US for their 2024 Tour - Pulse & Heart

K-pop powerhouse EVERGLOW is set to embark on their 2024 "Pulse & Heart" tour, marking their return to the international stage after a series of successful releases and promotions. The...

Jul.16

Event Reports

Hololive Night at Dodger Stadium Report

The Hololive Night at Dodgers Stadium was a unique collaboration between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Hololive Productions. Popular VTubers Usada Pekora, Hoshimachi Suisei, and Gawr Gura participated in baseball...

Jul.16

Anime News

Warner Bros Anime Expo Panel - Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League and Suicide Squad Isekai

Warner Bros. Animation unveiled the Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League trailer at their recent panel at Anime Expo. This highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 film Batman Ninja gave fans a glimpse of what to look...

Jul.14

Anime News

FAKKU Guest Spotlight Q&A: Karasu Chan

NOTE: This article is meant for those 18+. Discretion is advised. For this year, FAKKU's guest is none other than Karasu Chan, an artist from Taiwan. Karasu Chan is well known...

Jul.12

Anime News

Studio Bones Gachiakuta Panel @ Anime Expo 2024 Report

Studio BONES held a panel on July 4th, 2024 at Anime Expo. Hosted by Joey Bizinger (aka The Anime Man), fans got to hear about the upcoming anime adaptation of...

Jul.10

Anime News

2.5D Seduction Premiere at Anime Expo 2024

As mentioned previously, 2.5D Seduction is a series near and dear to my heart.  There's just something that resonated with me.  It might have been the cosplay bit, maybe the...

Jul.09

Anime News

Oshi no Ko at Anime Expo 2024 - Anniversary Screening and Season Two Premiere

Oshi no Ko should not need any introduction. The white-hot anime has taken both Japan and the world by storm. I happened to read all of the manga's available chapters...