Awesome Anime

For his third-year project at Cal Arts, director Luke Lee and a talented team of artists and animators created this playful short film. Giant Crush follows the story of a mech operator and his new co-pilot who remotely operate their mech using DDR-style foot controls. While facing off against a kaiju, they learn they have a deeper connection.

This animated short film by Luke Etcheverry takes inspiration from the Bloodhound supersonic race car. It follows the story of a driver, a high-speed test drive that goes wrong, and his resolve to get back on his high-horsepower horse and try again. The 16-bit anime pixel art style makes it that much better.

From acclaimed animator and director Naoko Yamada (K-On!, The Silent Voice) comes a coming-of-age story told in music and colors. The Colors Within is about Totsuko, a high school student who sees colors around other people. Emotions rise and fall when she forms a band with new friends. Premieres 01.24.25.

Annie’s fierce fighting form gets the action figure that it deserves. This action figure of the Female Titan from Attack on Titan is can be displayed in dozens of expressive poses. It also comes with eight hands, a hardened elbow, a hardened foot, an extra face, and extra bangs. Swappable bangs, folks. This is why Revoltech is king.

(PG-13) “Those terrible sights we witnessed… were nothing more than the entrance to the spiral.” The anime adaptation of horror master Junji Ito’s masterpiece. Uzumaki is about a series of gruesome events in a Japanese town, which was afflicted by a curse that contorts places, objects, and people into spiral patterns. Premieres 9.28.24. on Adult Swim.

Kaiyodo has finally opened pre-orders for its Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi action figure of One Punch Man‘s titular hero. This take on Saitama will let you showcase his power in a wide range of poses, thanks to its double-jointed parts and wired cape. It comes with six serious faces, his default friendly face, five hand parts, and three effect parts.

From director Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) comes an animated film based on Rohan’s legendary king Helm Hammerhand and his house’s clashes with the Dunlendings, almost 200 years before the original trilogy. Starring Brian Cox as Helm, Gaia Wise as Hera, and Luke Pasqualino as Wulf. Premieres 12.25.24.

Netflix has secured the streaming rights to one of the most brutal and heartbreaking films ever made. For those too young or lucky to have heard of it, Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies follows two young orphans trying to survive in post-World War II Japan. Many have described it as a film that everyone must watch, but only once. Premieres 9.16.24.

Once the world’s deadliest assassin, Taro Sakamoto found love, embraced a relaxed lifestyle, and now runs a convenience store. But you don’t just get to walk away from such a… unique career. The Netflix anime Sakamoto Days sees death-in-a-dad-bod protect his loved ones from all sorts of foes while keeping a low profile. Premieres 01.2025.

(PG-13: Language) Six years in the making, the latest anime short from Paul “OtaKing” Johnson, creator of TIE Fighter and Game Master: R-TYPE, is a must-watch for fans of Alien. It follows the story of a lone crew member aboard a mining ship who stumbles onto a terrifying hive of Xenomorphs. Co-directed by Claudia Montealegre with sound by Scary Good Studio.

Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell,) animator Masashi Kudō (Bleach), and filmmaker/writer Mattson Tomlin (Batman: The Imposter) teamed up with Skydance to create this anime that leans into the terror elements of The Terminator franchise.  Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sonoya Mizuno, André Holland, and Ann Dowd star. Arriving on Netflix 8.29.24.

After securing an entry-level job at the local Happy Grits franchise, the protagonist of this animated short is forced to watch a training video. Along the way he’ll learn how to deal with disgruntled customers and the true nature of his co-workers. We love the offbeat anime style and character design from artists Zack Fox and Chibu Okere. (Thanks, Rob!)

Alongside video games, it’s only been about a decade since anime went mainstream. But it has a rich history, including behind the scenes, as YouTuber arikendo reveals in his overview of anime studios. From legends like Ghibli and Toei to upstarts like ufotable and Bones, a lot of talent and hard work have gone into our favorite anime shows.

(PG-13) Mullet Mad Jack is a roguelite first-person shooter with ’90s anime aesthetics. Instead of having limited health, you have only 10 seconds to play. You must kill enemies to keep topping up your timer. It also has a mode with no timer if you just want to enjoy the animated story scenes at your own pace, as well as a randomized endless mode.

Netflix is readying an anime based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. What’s truly special is that they assembled the original cast from Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to voice their characters. Japan’s Science Saru is animating the series, with Wright and author Bryan Lee O’Malley as executive producers.

One of the simplest but most entertaining games out there is Rock, Paper, Scissors. We think it can be pretty intense with the right participants, but the guys from Corridor amped up the drama by turning it into the storyline for an original anime. Who will reign supreme in this epic clash?