12 Days of Anime (2015) – Day 2 – Speaking with Hiromi Katou, Character Design for Needless, at Sakuracon

Hiromi Katou is a gifted and experienced talent, having a successful career in the anime industry through a variety of roles. Among his notable accomplishments, he was the character designs for Guilty Crown, Kobato., and Hakkenden, the animation directors for Beck, Gunslinger Stratos, and Fantasia Doll, and a key animator for Death Note, Azumanga Daioh, Shingeki no Kyojin, and many more. However, his most distinguished achievement, to me at least, is that he was the character design for Needless, which you might guess from previous posts is my favorite anime. I was extremely fortunate that Hiromi Katou was invited as a guest for Sakuracon this year and made sure to visit his Q&A panel, so that I could ask him some questions regarding Needless. So, for Day 2 of my 12 Days of Anime, I’ll recall my time with Hiromi Katou and the answers he provided about his experience with Needless.

Spring 2015 – First Impressions (Part 1)

This post reviews: Shokugeki no Souma, Re-Kan!, Owari no Seraph, Gunslinger Stratos, and Plastic Memories.

Spring 2015 – Season Preview

The beginning of Spring is known for one thing in Japan and one thing only: a new season of anime. Also cherry blossoms and probably several other things, but those aren’t nearly as iconic to springtime in Japan as the debut of roughly 50 new TV anime in addition to an ever growing number of shorts, OVAs, and movies. As always, the focus of these previews will be on the newly airing TV anime which I will provide my assessment and plans for the next three months. What, exactly, should we be looking forward to for the Spring 2015 anime season?