What Sonny Boy Can Teach Us About Living In Times Of Uncertainty

This article was originally published on 18th November 2021. ‘It’s been a tough year.’  This is a phrase that we’ve all heard countless times lately.  Whether it is through the news, social media or word of mouth, I am often reminded that the world is in the middle of multiple crises and that I’m unwillingly … Continue reading What Sonny Boy Can Teach Us About Living In Times Of Uncertainty

Hunting Flying Saucers – Contextualising ‘The UFO’ in Anime

This article was first published on August 28th 2021. The piece has mostly gone unchanged outside of some better images/links to the UFO as seen in Ninja Mono (1996). Those that follow the Japanese animation scene closely would know that the so-called ‘UFO’ has made a decent number of appearances in the past year and a … Continue reading Hunting Flying Saucers – Contextualising ‘The UFO’ in Anime

Studying Water & Visual Storytelling In Anime | GITM Podcast Ep. 114

Water is extremely versatile in the real world and the same can be said for its place in animated filmmaking. In this episode of Get In The Mecha I take a look at how anime makes use of water as a device for telling profound stories, from Attack On Titan to Heike Monogatari. I also … Continue reading Studying Water & Visual Storytelling In Anime | GITM Podcast Ep. 114

Bringing Letterboxes To Life: Toshimasa Ishii, Tomohiko Ito & Eighty-Six Episode Twenty-Two’s Use Of The 21:9 Aspect Ratio

My experience with 86 (Eighty-Six) was pretty varied.  After offering a strong eleven-episode package for the first cour, my expectations for the anime’s second half were quite high. Unfortunately, they were not met in their entirety but that does not dismiss the fact that there were some rather memorable moments during the second half.  The … Continue reading Bringing Letterboxes To Life: Toshimasa Ishii, Tomohiko Ito & Eighty-Six Episode Twenty-Two’s Use Of The 21:9 Aspect Ratio

The Talking Dog’s Tale – Exploring Sonny Boy 08 & Keiichiro Saito’s Direction

After watching Keiichiro Saito's first storyboarded episode of Sonny Boy (Episode Three, 'The Cat Who Wore Sandals'), my expectations for this series had already been surpassed. From the excellent shift in lighting, made complete by debut animation director Nobuhide Kariya, to his use of several visceral close-ups, Saitō had already made his mark on this … Continue reading The Talking Dog’s Tale – Exploring Sonny Boy 08 & Keiichiro Saito’s Direction