When a Ping Pong anime series was first announced in early 2014, I had to ask: Why? Taiyo Matsumoto’s manga had already been adapted to film back in 2002. Directed by first-timer Fumihiko Sori with a script by rising star Kankuro Kudo, the film launched the career of actor Shido Nakamura. It even came with songs by Supercar and Boom Boom Satellites. I couldn’t imagine anything better than that. When I learned Masaaki Yuasa was directing the series, I became even more curious – and confused. Yuasa was one of my all-time favorite anime directors (and still is.) His 2007 science fiction series Kaiba changed my vision of what TV anime could be. He would have been a great fit to adapt Yuasa’s epic No. 5 . Instead he was hired to go back over old ground. I didn’t understand why at the time. Now I recognize that of all Matsumoto’s comics,...
- 4/11/2024
- by Adam Wescott
- Crunchyroll
From the tip of his pompadour to the heels of his boots there is no mistaking Dandy for a serious man. His adventures include hunting for galactic ramen, brokering peace between clothing-obsessed aliens and participating in a high school musical. So it comes as a surprise that the eleventh episode of Space Dandy , the show that bears his name, is quite serious indeed. It begins with Dandy holding a box he can’t remember acquiring. When his boss Scarlet opens it by mistake, the world turns red and then monochrome. Inside the box is a mysterious book. That’s just the start. “I’m Never Remembering You, Baby” is one of the most unsettling episodes in the series. It portrays Dandy as not foolish but unreliable and vulnerable as well. He travels to a planet that substitutes the show’s typical bright colors for crumbling charcoal architecture. Meanwhile, Dandy’s archnemesis,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Adam Wescott
- Crunchyroll
The complexity of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” became evident even prior to the completion of its ground-breaking, Oscar-winning predecessor, “Into the Spider-Verse,” so producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller recruited three new directors, who eagerly asked to join the franchise: Joaquim Dos Santos (“The Legend of Korra”), Kemp Powers (“Soul” co-director and “One Night in Miami” Oscar-nominated screenwriter), and Justin K. Thompson (“Into the Spider-Verse” production designer). The producers called them their “band of musicians,” with each contributing his own creative specialty in helping Miles Morales forge his own Spidey path in this epic sequel.
Dos Santos choreographed the thrilling action sequences as Miles (Shameik Moore) travels through several multiverses with potential love interest Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and the Spider-Society team led by Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara. Their worlds are threatened by Spot/Dr. Jonathan Ohnn (Jason Schwartzman), who harnesses the power of a super Collider and...
Dos Santos choreographed the thrilling action sequences as Miles (Shameik Moore) travels through several multiverses with potential love interest Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and the Spider-Society team led by Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara. Their worlds are threatened by Spot/Dr. Jonathan Ohnn (Jason Schwartzman), who harnesses the power of a super Collider and...
- 6/1/2023
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
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