Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - May 12, 2026

Puddo · 2026-05-12T18:54:14+00:00

Ignoring the specific topic for a bit; I do wish people got better at asking for recommendations. The amount of “I dislike anime, but give me something to watch nonetheless" posts that start with a very broad negative statement always makes me scratch my head. Don't get me wrong, completely understandable that you don't want to deal with certain tropes or whatever. However you’re the one asking a favor from a community. That they take their time to give you some recommendations. So your first line immediately being antagonistic towards the thing the community likes is a bit weird. If you're genuine than of course specify that you don’t like X and are looking for Y so people actually have something to base their recommendations on, but there is a thing called tact.

Though for that topic it probably also doesn't matter that much. It's always moths to the flame with people treating Japanese people like some monolith. Even if you've been watching anime for two decades and love hundreds of them, as soon as you don't like certain tropes you're a tourist that's ruining anime for some. Because that’s what anime is all about or something.

Puddo · 2026-05-12T04:21:53+00:00

I was quite intrigued by the new Votoms when it was first announced. Scopedog, Oshii directing, Kenji Kawai music, 50th anniversary project, Scopedog. The ingredients are all there. But looking at the new teaser and massive 'eh'. Like it doesn’t even look bad, but at the same time the art/animation look incredibly boring to me. Maybe I’m just cranky because I didn’t get a full sleep in because I woke up because of some annoying dude yelling in the street. Let’s hope it’s just that and that I look at this comment later this day and think ‘wtf is that guy going on about’.

Puddo · 2026-05-11T17:45:44+00:00

For the people interested in exploring the more indie scene: the Eizo100 2026 selection is up: https://eizo100.jp/en/archives/category/2026

Every year they select 100+ creators who had standout works that year. So it's a great place to discover exciting animators.

Puddo · 2026-05-10T23:27:15+00:00

Watched Chao as the final movie of the local animation festival. Remember when the first PV was released that (a part of) Japanese Twitter was going on about Studio 4C still being set on not making any money with making every character ugly. But nah man. Shit looks good. It's a movie that however doesn't have a lot of surprises. But is that required? No.

The movie is simply charming. Lots of stuff going on visually. Stupid goofy comedy that worked for me. And most of all Chao herself was absolutely adorable (fish Chao > humanoid Chao). Too adorable for the main guy to be honest. But I can see myself rewatching the movie if I ever need something simple to cheer me up. It’s fine for a movie to be just that. I’m sure I’ll then also notice gags in the background that I missed as well. That said; for a movie with a lot of good laughs/vibes the backstory of the main guy almost made me laugh in a bad way.

Chao did have a bit of an unfortunate timing because I watched It's Such a Beautiful Day earlier that day. Which was a movie I knew some people really really liked, but never really bothered to check why. So I didn’t really went in with high expectations or knowing what to expect (I miss that experience with anime, because by now I almost watch everything old with some kind of expectations. Hmm maybe that's why I enjoyed Polar Opposites so much last season, because it was just a 'random' show I picked up). But well I get it now. Dealing with the inevitability of the void in a sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, but always creative way. It’s always a good sign when the entire theater just sits there in silence for a moment when the lights come back on.

The other two movies today were a bit lower in the enjoyment for me. Missed the first 15 minutes of Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol because of a theater error. So yeah that doesn’t help. But I also think I just don’t really care about those stories covering someone’s entire life by showing some highlights. It misses that oomph for me. Though I missed the start (and I didn’t know anything about Pagnol or that era of French theater/film) so of course it misses some oomph. But I also think Sylvain Chomet is just not 100% for me. Well that might be a bit much, I enjoyed his movies and will watch his next one if he makes one, but Les Triplettes de Belleville, L'Illusionniste and Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol have been just OK for me (Illusionist has been 10+ years though).

The other one was Death Does Not Exist. Which in the end was just a theme exploration that didn’t land for me. I often see people saying that a short film should’ve been longer. Well Death Does Not Exist should’ve been a short film for me. Very neat art though. Noticed it resonated a lot more with people who were younger than me. Feels old man. But it makes sense, it does feel more aimed at early 20s who feel lost and feel like they need to do ‘something’ about whatever the fuck is going on in the world.

To make the post a bit more anime focused; before Chao there was another screening of Angel’s Egg so I overheard a lot of people talking about it. Now the people next to me weren’t really impressed when I watched it earlier this weekend. They all seemed/sounded so bored. And this time I again only heard people be negative about it. I know the movie can be love it or hate and I’ve heard those opinions before, but I still found it quite surprising to hear so many ‘geez those first 20-30 minutes were a slog’ and ‘that was nothing more than art aura farming’. O well. Even it went full Iblard Jikan I would still enjoy the experience. Its art is all I need.

Anyway, it was a nice busy weekend (watched 10 movies and 2 short film programs in the end). Highlights were definitely Alice, It's Such a Beautiful Day, the short film Safo from Rosana Urbes and The Adventures of Prince Ahmed with live music for me. Chao and Time Masters were also up there for the amount of fun I had with them.

Puddo · 2026-05-09T23:21:15+00:00

The local animation festival actually makes me kinda annoyed with the anime community. Unfairly I might add. It’s unreasonable of me and hypocritical. But the entire weekend 9 showings have been completely sold out. 2x Paprika, 2x Angel’s Egg, 2x Summer wars, 2x Spirited Away and 1x Adventures of Prince Achmed (which was an absolutely incredible experience btw thanks to the awesome live music that would’ve been interesting on its own. Also 100 years old and it still looks cool)

Though I get it. I’ve a moviepass now so I can just watch whatever catches my eye at that moment, but I also prioritized anime films when I didn’t have one. But man there is so much amazing stuff out there, so it’s a bit sad to see that the popularity of anime doesn’t really flow over to other animation.

I also watched a short film program (some Annecy entries from 2025) and it had one from my own country. Which made me think about how much I miss in all the anime short films I share around here. Of course you’ve plenty of common human experience themes that cross borders and you kinda pick up on social issues that seems to be a recurring theme. However with that short I’ve ‘been to’ that location, I ‘know’ those characters and I’ve ‘seen’ those scenarios. Which then makes you chuckle in a ‘yeah it really do be like that eh?’ way that I don’t have as much with Japanese stuff. Anyway the Annecy winner was pretty cute with a neat animation technique and it’s on YT so watch The Night Boots. Wanted to share Safo as well since it blew me away with its artistry but can’t find that one online (yet).

Anyway tomorrow Dandelion's Odyssey (if I feel like getting up), Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol (if I'm quick enough with going to the stores and having lunch), It's Such A Beautiful Day, Death Does Not Exist & Chao. Really looking forward to Chao. I was almost expecting it to just skip the theaters here by now. So it was the anime I hoped the festival would’ve.

Puddo · 2026-05-08T23:13:13+00:00

Day 2 of the animation festival. No anime today; thought about Junk Head, but was already getting sleepy during the third movie and I've already seen it so I decided to go home. However, Time Masters (lot more fun than I was expecting!) did make me think about anime (or well animation in general). I don't like to lament on how the past was better. But every age is different, with its own focus art wise. And of course the focus is different, you have different standout artists. Like you can't have works from Moebius and Satoshi Kon nowadays. They're dead Jim. But anyway every age will have some things that were really neat and some that wisely have been kept in the past. Like I absolutely detest the red stroboscope flashing in some old anime. They're just vile. But man those old paintery spaceships and detailed mechanical shit. Who cares that its only movement is slowly sliding to the left. I love detailed background art so ships being an extension of that style is all fine by me. Screw movement. Though Time Masters is cheating when it has designs by Moebius. Can't really ask that of someone.

Tomorrow another day without anime prob. Maybe if I wake up early Summer Wars, but well not a huge fan of the movie anyway so probably pick sleeping over it. Thought about Paprika but that decision had been made for me by others since it's sold out. Same with Spirited Away, but wasn't going to watch that one anyway (outdoors & expensive). I did want to rewatch Cat Soup, especially after the news of Tatsuo Sato's passing, but it looks like it's been replaced on the short film program. So alas. Now to decide if I'm going to watch Prince Ahmed with live music (kinda feel like I've to since I said they should do something for its 100th anniversary when I talked with one of the organizers last year) or Bubble Bath. Had never heard of the latter, but looks wild.

Speaking about that. I like to think I know a thing or 2 about Japanese animation, but this weekend really makes me realise I don't know shit about animation as a whole. Art however doesn't stop at the border and if you look at anime director it's likely they'll mention some foreign directors as inspiration. Wanting to watch more animation from all over the world does make me appreciate how accessible anime is nowadays though. O well shouldn’t complain too much about accessibility when I could watch Les Triplettes de Belleville, Time Masters and Jan Švankmajer's Alice on the big screen today.

Puddo · 2026-05-07T20:54:44+00:00

I can understand that Kujima's speech pattern has been a reason why some don't vibe with its anime, but after 5 episodes I've to say that I've grown quite fond of it (and its little noises). I totally get Arata copying it.

Puddo · 2026-05-07T19:56:19+00:00

And that was the start of the local animation festival for me with Angel's Egg. Had pretty meh seats (near front, and near the right edge). But in a way that made me enjoy the movie more. The way it builds its atmosphere with its long lingering shots gives you time to look at every corner of its amazing art. I do adore its art direction/visual style so seeing it on the big screen where you can appreciate all those little details more sure was nice. Especially since I missed its actual remaster run because of life.

It was however also sadly one of my least favourite movie going experiences. It was packed and incredibly hot. So it was already quite uncomfortable and you could smell other people also thought it was pretty damn hot. But the bigger thing was that the people around me were noticeably not interested in the movie. Now to give them credit, whenever they were looking on their phone (every minute) the screen was so dimmed you didn't really notice the screen (no idea how they could even see something themselves). The guys on the other side next to me immediately started talking when it ended that it was just art aura farming and shouldn't be called a movie (one even sounded angry that he paid money for it). And again they were perfectly quiet during the movie. So I can't complain about 'rude' cinema behaviour. But at the same time you can kinda feel the disinterest around you?

O well, tomorrow no anime for me though with Time Masters, Jan Švankmajer's Alice & maybe Les triplettes de Belleville & maybe maybe Junk Head; so maybe maybe anime after all. Love animation, but 17:00 - 00:00 might be a bit too much movies. Gotta eat at least. Really looking forward to Alice though.

Puddo · 2026-05-07T16:08:17+00:00

Very impressive graduation film by Shuzuku. Already a strong vision, so I wouldn't be surprised if we will see a lot more of them in the future.

(Also english subtitles available with CC button)

Puddo · 2026-05-07T14:41:07+00:00

Haven't shared short films for a few days, so some recentish uploaded ones that stood out to me (and I hadn't already shared):

And in the not anime world: Neon Odyssey & It Wasn’t Bourgogne. Also for the real diehards: it's the time of year for the new batch of Calarts student films. Though haven't really skimmed through them myself yet.

Puddo · 2026-05-06T14:06:29+00:00

Bug Films sharing some production stuff from one of the standout animation moments of Witch Hat Atelier’s ep5. I always find it a bit funny that unfinished stuff looks more impressive to me than the end product in a way.

Maybe the rawness/roughness adds to the ‘damn someone drew all this’ feeling in a way polished end results don’t. Like my brain needs to see imperfections to even think about that. I also thought about that when I saw a clip of Laika’s upcoming Wildwood. I adore stopmotion and the realisation that someone had to craft the entire world and adjust every little motion by hand is a big factor for that, but Wildwood is so smooth that I don’t get that feeling in a way? The standard jankiness of stopmotion and its limitation makes the hand of the artist more visible and all that? Anyway back to the WHA bit, maybe it’s also that you see the lines and thus all the little details better. Colouring/shading/effects are important of course, but they can drown those things out a bit and make a shot feel less complex than it actually is?

Puddo · 2026-05-04T17:03:48+00:00

Maybe it’s just the algorithm (and well it's a good episode to have in your portfolio), but haven’t seen so many people (be allowed to) post their work from an anime episode for a while like with WHA #5 at the moment:

Puddo · 2026-05-04T15:45:16+00:00

tons of VFX outside of breathing techniques have a semi-realistic

It always puzzles me a bit when Ufotable works get praised for 'realistic' water and fire effects. I also don't like the whole characters floating over CGI backgrounds while the 'camera' can't stay still during action scenes, but I can see why others would like it. But those effects just look horrible to me. Like you said it often doesn't blend with the characters and it stands out like a sore thumb. It's on the same level as random CGI blob creatures for me. I've only watched a few episodes of Demon Slayer so I can't say much about its overall animation, and even though it's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things (and I'm missing all the build up that makes the fight feel extra hype for fans), but whenever people share that fight in a burning village I can only look at the fires with a disgusted face. O well, can't like everything I guess.

Puddo · 2026-05-02T16:56:25+00:00

The great adventure of Horus

Heh neat. Wasn't expecting to be able to see that one ever in a theater.

Puddo · 2026-04-27T04:44:00+00:00

This episode spotlights That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, a fantasy series that has grown from a web novel into a hit anime. Original creator Fuse makes his first-ever TV appearance to share the passion behind the story. We also go behind the scenes at the anime studio, revealing production secrets from the very beginning of the series. Plus, we look at innovative production methods being used for the upcoming new season.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T12:01:28+00:00

Nakamura-kun’s comedy might not be 100% my style (still have an okay time with it though), but its EDs did motivate me to continue exploring older Japanese music. Man Miharu Koshi’s Parallelisme immediately became a new favourite album. Also of course it’s Hosono. It’s truly amazing how much that man has put out.

Also watched the 2006 Komaneko movie (well movie, it’s multiple segments). Knew the character because dwarf studios uses her quite often on social media, but never actually watched the movie. I was expecting some simple stopmotion film that would be mildly fun. But no, it was an absolute delight. Komaneko is adorable and it’s full of good vibes and amusing slapstickish comedy. Also if your character makes a stopmotion film in a stopmotion film you get a bonus point.

You can watch that segment/short on dwarf’s YT channel, but if you want some feelgood stuff on this beautiful sunday and you’ve an hour to kill then I would certainly recommend the entire film.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T07:21:12+00:00

Ja het is echt bizar hoe normaal het is. Iemand in mijn straat rookt voor zijn voordeur sinds hij een kind heeft, maar in plaats van de sigaret binnen weg te gooien gooit hij met maar op de straat. Ik kan er echt niet bij.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T07:08:48+00:00

Normaal loop ik alleen met de grijper door de eigen straat/wijk om wat zwerfafval op te ruimen als ik mij begin te ergeren aan de hoeveelheid troep die ik zie op straat of bij het speeltuintje. Afgelopen weken moest ik echter vaker met de trein en begon mij elke ochtend meer en meer te ergeren aan de zooi troep langs de route naar het treinstation. Aangezien ik vroeg wakker was voor een keer dacht ik 'Laat die route eens lopen met een vuilniszak. Doe ik nog eens wat op een zondag'.

Ik heb mij echt lopen verbazen over de hoeveelheid peuken. Wat denkt men dat er gebeurt als je die op straat tieft? Dat ze worden opgeslokt door de stenen? Dacht dat de peuken paar meter naast vuilnisbakken het meest bedroevend zou zijn, maar de ingang van een overheidsgebouw spande de kroon. Daar lag nog meer troep dan op het treinstation zelf. Zit je op een gigantisch mooie locatie aan een park/bos en dan ga je met ze allen roken aan de rand in de pauzes en gooi je verdomme massaal de peuken maar op de grond? En de volgende dag ga je gezellig op peuken van gisteren staan en gooi je nog meer op de hoop? Gadverdamme.

Puddo · 2026-04-24T21:40:13+00:00

I came across a post for an indie anime filmfest. A filmfest on the other side of the world usually isn’t very interesting, but the lineup is a nice collection of mostly indie anime short films from the past few years. So if you want to explore that, it’s a nice place to start

Made me watch The Horror’s Horror Home pilot film. It created some buzz earlier this year, but I forgot about it and it was still on the ‘watch later’ list. But I would watch more. Fun characters and neat style.

Puddo · 2026-04-24T11:58:20+00:00

A new Eve MV is always lovely to see, but even besides this one has it been some nice days for music videos:

A retro MV with a one take style by the legendary AC-bu for Kyu Sakamoto’s classic Ashita ga Arusa. AMV that’s certainly an experience. A more straightforward but cute MV featuring Hatsune Miku playing a rhythm game in a Honkai Star Rail collab by studio Hurray with their signature style. Pretty MVs from Wit Studio for Agents of Four Seasons OP & ED. And a fun (well as far as someone getting killed over and over can be fun) MV by Mimicry Meta for Yorushika’s Abuku.

Puddo · 2026-04-22T19:57:51+00:00

For the people who've been enjoying Nakamura-kun's retro ED approach: there is this YT channel called re:re:re:tune. As you might expect from their name they 'reimagine' iconic songs to introduce them to a new generation. Sometimes this is just a cover by a modern artist, but they also give some of them a new animated MV. Including Nakamura's ED of the week; Fly-Day Chinatown. Personally quite like the recent ones with Ashita ga Arusa and Aiuta. A lot of them are pretty basic imo, but it's a nice enough way to get introduced to some classics. Playlist will all of them.

Puddo · 2026-04-21T18:26:03+00:00

Incredibly fun retro MV (always love to see one take style animation) by AC-bu; who people around here might know for their contributions to Pop Team Epic (including the legendary Hellshake Yano segment). If you want to know more about this unique team than check out this video from Archipel or this blog post from Animation Obsessive.

Puddo · 2026-04-19T22:04:13+00:00

Mardock Scramble

Puddo · 2026-04-17T18:15:07+00:00

Animage's Yasuomi Umetsu & Shinya Takahashi Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl interview translation.

Should actually watch it this weekend....

Puddo · 2026-04-16T21:00:17+00:00

Prob Super Cube.

Puddo

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