demographic: shōnen


2021


'How Do You Live?': Letters To A Young Wonderer 
Not some genteel life-lessons story, but the quiet plea of a man resisting the growing militarism and reactionary violence of his world
0 Comments
'Weathering With You': Who'll Stop The Rain? 
The latest of Makoto Shinkai's gorgeous films that inevitably end up being about so much less than the sum of their parts
0 Comments

2019


'Penguin Highway': Whiz Kid Vs. Cosmic Weirdness 
The author of the surreally absurd 'The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl' and 'The Tatami Galaxy' now turns to a story aimed at younger readers, but with the reality-warping and surrealism of his other work
0 Comments
'Promare': The Burning World 
Studio Trigger's first theatrical film is so dazzling it threatens to melt the eyes right out of the head, but suffers from feeling like a TV series truncated into a two-hour slot
0 Comments

2018


'Fullmetal Alchemist' (2017): Ed And Al, In Miniature 
Further proof that some anime-to-live-action adaptations need to either be done at the right scale or not done at all
0 Comments

2017


'Death Note' (2017): D.O.A. 
This isn't 'Death Note'; it's barely Cliffs Notes
0 Comments
'Attack On Titan: The Movie': A Dead-Action Film 
Misguided, tone-deaf, ugly, and erratically paced, this is one of the rare occasions where a promised Western remake might actually be just the response we deserve
0 Comments

2016


'Astro-Boy': The Kid With The 100,000 Horsepower Heart 
Osamu Tezuka's beloved creation was more than just kid's stuff; it was machine-age mythology for young and old alike
0 Comments

2015


'The Seven Deadly Sins': A Venture Into Familiar But Entertaining Territory 
Netflix's next venture into anime territory is satisfyingly entertaining and sports a gamboling cast, but don't look for any envelope-pushing here
0 Comments
'Noragami': God For Hire. Cheap. 
Having gods tussle with each other in the middle of the modern world isn't a new idea, but 'Noragami' finds ways to be enjoyable rather than shopworn
0 Comments

2014


'Claymore': The Beautiful And The Damned 
Rare these days is the series with an all-female cast where character, story, and drama are the goals, not titillation or eye candy
0 Comments
'Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit': Have Spear, Will Travel 
Unfairly overlooked by audiences, this engrossing and intelligent adventure fantasy deserves cherishing -- doubly so now thanks to its welcome re-release
0 Comments
'Cøde:Breaker': Someone Else's Idea Of Fun 
A show this dismal is best seen as a symptom of anime's growing insularity
0 Comments
'Eureka Seven': The Way Young Lovers Do 
Nominally a giant-mecha fantasy, 'Eureka Seven' also explores the awkward pain of young love -- and the even greater pain of trading childhood for adulthood
0 Comments
'Ranma 1/2': Love Runs Hot And Cold 
After twenty-five years, this seminal anime comedy is still both funny and a reminder of how shows like this are harder to make than it might seem
0 Comments

See more shōnen posts from 2014