Part 1 of our Kyoto Vacation kicks off with ‘Crying is the Key to Happiness,’ a series of episodes on Kyoto Animation’s adaptations of the acclaimed visual novels by Key VisualArts. We begin with 2005’s Air, the strange, sad, and surprising tale of a wandering boy, a girl obsessed with dinosaurs, an empathetic crow, and a winged girl in the sky. Air is a hard show to describe, but it’s a powerful watch, adapting the hit visual novel into 12 episodes (and 2 OVAs) that put Kyoto Animation...

Welcome to Japanimation Station’s Kyoto Vacation, the fourth season of our podcast and our biggest adventure yet! We are taking a journey through the works of Kyoto Animation, one of the most respected and beloved anime studios in Japan, reviewing shows like Clannad, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!, Nichijou, Sound! Euphonium, Violet Evergarden, and much more. But before we talk about any specific works, we wanted to take a step back and discuss the history of Kyoto Animation itself,...

“Leave it to my psychokinesis.”    The third season of Japanimation Station comes to a close with the jam-packed final installment of The Classic Adventures of Lupin the 3rd! We start by taking a look at Lupin’s first live-action adventure, 1974’s Strange Psychokinetic Strategy. This is one of the earliest Lupin adaptations period, created between the first and second anime before the franchise had become enduringly popular, and it’s a surprisingly creative, if narratively scattershot,...

“I guess we do battle tonight, Pops!”   For the penultimate episode of Japanimation Station Season 3, we’re looking at a selection of Lupin the 3rdfilms and specials from the brink of the new millennium! Starting with 1996’s Dead or Alive, a theatrical feature directed by Lupin creator Monkey Punch himself, which sees our favorite thief embroiled in a narratively messy but visually stunning adventure on a very strange island. 1997’s Island of Assassins is a lesser Lupin special, weirdly...

“I can’t just ignore a lovely lady with a big Diamond.”   As Lupin the 3rd rounded the corner of the 1980s into the 1990s, the character and the series was in a period of transition. The 1987 OVA film The Fuma Conspiracy featured some of the franchise’s greatest animation, but also had a completely different voice cast than Japanese fans had come to know and love. The series went back to the tone and style of Part II for the 1989 Osamu Dezaki-directed TV special Bye Bye Lady Liberty, with...

“Nobody said I’m not in. We’re just out of cognac.”    With Lupin the 3rd Part III, Lupin officially the enters the 1980s and he’s got a new attitude, a new look, and a new jacket – a pink one! The Pink Jacket Adventures, as this series has come to be known, is one of the weirder and wilder chapters in Lupin history, with Yuzo Aoki leading a talented team of animators to create a take on Lupin that’s both uniquely stylish and highly varied, with character designs shifting from episode to...

“Believe in the power of the thief.”    Before he left the world of Lupin behind and went off to change the course of anime history forever with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki returned to TMS for a final set of Lupin the 3rd projects that have become iconic anime classics: The 1979 feature film The Castle of Cagliostro, and episodes 145 and 155 of Part II, “Albatross – Wings of Death” and “Farewell, O Dearest Lupin!”, distributed in the US in the 1990s as Lupin III’s...

“Lupin, our manly drama ends today!”    Airing from 1977 to 1980, the second Lupin the 3rd TV anime – retroactively titled “Part II” – produced a whopping 155 episodes, and with the iconic red jacket and the entire five-person crew (Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata) in tow for every adventure, this is the series that firmly cemented Lupin III as an enduring anime icon, and set the tone for many of his future capers. For today’s episode, we watched a selection of 27 episodes – see...

“Wherever he goes, he’ll be chased. That is his destiny.”    In 1978, Lupin the 3rd made the leap to the big screen with his first animated feature film, and while the second Lupin movie, 1979’s Hayao Miyazaki-directed The Castle of Cagliostro, is the more famous film, The Mystery of Mamo is arguably the single piece of Lupin animation that cuts closest to the heart of the character and the tone, humor, and storytelling style that makes Lupin the 3rd so enduring. It’s a globetrotting...

“I’m a greedy person. There’s so much I want to do with Mom and all of you.”    Weekly Suit Gundam is back to review the second and final season of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, which brings the story to a close with a rousing, jam-packed set of episodes that’s darker, richer, and more action-filled than the first season. This is the first mainline Gundam series besides Reconguista in G to tell its story in just 2 cours, but that doesn’t mean it’s a thinner or less complicated...

“Lupin. He’s a nice man. But he’s cool.”  Welcome to Season 3 of Japanimation Station: The Classic Adventures of Lupin the 3rd! This season, we will be exploring the countless capers of one of the most enduring icons of anime from his very first animated appearance in 1969 up through the dawn of the 21st century. In today’s season premiere, we go through the history of Monkey Punch’s original Lupin the 3rd manga, the creation of the 1969 pilot film, and finally do a deep dive on Lupin’s...

“For the sake of someone other than yourself, you can exert infinite strength.”   The third season of the hit anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba recently wrapped up its hotly anticipated third season, adapting the “Swordsmith Village Arc” of Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga, and as big fans of the series who have reviewed all the prior arcs, we’re here for a deep dive with another amazing season. This set of episodes introduces us to a cast of largely new (or previously briefly seen) characters,...

Hosts Sean Chapman and Jonathan Lack give you a special look at Season 3 of Japanimation Station, THE CLASSIC ADVENTURES OF LUPIN THE 3RD, premiering July 4th, 2023! In this 8-episode season, we will be surveying 30 years of anime history through the exploits of the infamous thief Lupin III and his friends Daisuke Jigen, Fujiko Mine, Goemon Ishikawa, and Inspector Zenigata! From the original anime in 1971 to the “Episode 0” origin-story special in 2002, we’re looking at many of Lupin’s...

“Getting to know someone is all about little moments like that, wouldn’t you agree?” In this super-sized season finale of Japanimation Station, we close out ufotable/Moon Works with two reviews: First, we discuss Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, the 2018 original net animation spin-off of Fate/stay night that sees Shirou and all his friends making food and enjoying each other’s company. Animated by Ufotable and based on the manga by TAa, it’s a delightful and remarkably well-produced...

“I’ll show you a miracle.” The journey of Fate/stay night comes to a close with the third and final chapter of the Heaven’s Feel trilogy, Spring Song, and Sean and Jonathan are both in absolute awe at what this film achieves. Bringing the stories of Shirou, Sakura, Rin, Ilya, and the other surviving characters to a surprising, incredibly emotional conclusion, this final film is a true tour-de-force, with the full weight of ufotable’s animation abilities brought to bear on some of Kinoko...

“She’s all I want to protect.” The dark saga that is Heaven’s Feel enters its especially dark middle chapter with Lost Butterfly, the second film in the trilogy, and one that delivers an enormous, eventful, complicated slice of movie for us to break down. Filled to the brim with surprising revelations, major plot turns, and huge character moments, the film sees Shirou and Sakura becoming more and more entwined in each others’ lives, and presents the viewer with a bracing, challenging...

“If I ever did something bad, would you forgive me?” We enter the final phase of ufotable/Moon Works with the first part of the Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel trilogy, Presage Flower, the first of three films adapting the third and final route of the original Fate/stay night visual novel. And whether you’re experiencing the story in its original visual novel setting or coming to it through ufotable’s anime adaptations, Heaven’s Feel is meticulously designed to throw you off balance, with a...

“That’s Hell you’re walking into.” Where the first season of Unlimited Blade Works provided a lot of essential character work, the second season – episodes 13 through 25 – is where the plot kicks into high gear, and there’s a lot to break down on this episode, as the show doles out revelations about Archer and Shirou, brings Gilgamesh and his monstrous narcissism into the fray, and delivers twists, betrayals, and surprise alliances aplenty. It’s a terrific, instant-classic stretch of anime...

“Starting now, things are gonna get real flashy!”     The premiere of the Swordsmith Village Arc is just two days away – on April 9th – and we’re finishing out our reviews of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga, with a look at the show’s singular second season. Fresh off the unprecedented success of the Mugen Train film, Season 2 is shaped unlike just about any other anime season out there: An original episode with fan...

“I am the bone of my sword.” After the breakout success of Fate/Zero, ufotable returned in 2014 with an adaptation of the second route in the Fate/stay night visual novel: Unlimited Blade Works. And it’s a big series, released in two seasons, with the first including three hour-long episodes, and the entire production showcasing some of the highest-quality animation ever featured on television. It’s a spectacular show, and while ufotable did not adapt the first route of the visual novel, we...

“Set your heart ablaze.”    Ahead of the premiere of the Swordsmith Village Arc on April 9th, we’re revisiting a series of reviews of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga. This time, we’re talking all about the 2020 feature film sensation Mugen Train, which set historic box-office records in Japan and around the world – and is just an utterly stupendous film all around. Taking one of the shorter arcs of the manga and...

“Glory lies beyond the horizon.” After covering just the double-length first episode last week, we’re back to discuss the full run of Fate/Zero, the Fate/stay night prequel that became a breakout anime hit all over the world, and given the run-time of today’s podcast, you can probably guess our thoughts on it. This is a tremendous show, whether you’re seeing it for the first time (like Jonathan) or the fifth time (like Sean), working equally well as either a prequel or the first chapter of...

“The bond between Nezuko and me can’t be severed by anyone.”  With Season 3’s Swordsmith Village Arc of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba right around the corner – it premieres April 9th – we are re-releasing a series of episodes from our sister series, The Weekly Stuff Podcast, in which Sean and Jonathan review all of ufotable’s extraordinary anime adaptation of Kyoharu Gotouge’s hit manga up to now. In this first episode, we break down the first season of Demon Slayer, episodes 1 through...

“The Holy Grail will save you.” After finishing up The Garden of Sinners last week, we are taking our first steps into the larger world of Fate/stay night, the most iconic of Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon’s creations, with Fate/Zero, the prequel anime based on the light novel series by Gen Urobuchi. On today’s episode, Sean gives us an in-depth introduction to the original Fate/stay night visual novel, all the ways it’s been adapted over the years, and tells us how Fate/Zero came about and where...

“Your dream will live on.” After adapting the original seven chapters of Kara no Kyoukai, ufotable returned in 2011 to animate the novel’s Epilogue chapter as a half-hour short, and in 2013 for Future Gospel (also known as Recalled Out Summer), based on an additional chapter Kinoko Nasu wrote in 2008, 10 years after the original serialization. Both turn out to be essential parts of the experience, with the Epilogue complicating and adding depth to the major themes of the series – alongside...