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"Batman: The Animated Series" was created at Warner Bros. Animation by and for an American audience. As is common practice in American cartoons, though, the animation work was outsourced to studios in southeast Asia.

One of those subcontractors was Japan's Sunrise, the home of the "Gundam" franchise and the studio that would go on to make "Cowboy Bebop." One of the most famous and well-regarded studios in Japan, Sunrise (officially known as Bandai Namco Filmworks these days) is where several animators (such as the founders of Studio Bones) first built their careers.

Sunrise handled seven episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series" — "Pretty Poison," "The Cat and the Claw, Part I," "Heart of Steel," "I Am the Night," "The Clock King," "Off Balance," and "The Man Who Killed Batman." Sunrise itself is divided up into several smaller studios; "Batman" was handled by Studio 6. The experience apparently left an impact, though,...

Bandai Namco Film Works today announced the release of "The Big-o 25th Anniversary Negotiation Files," an official design works collection book commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Big O anime series. The Big O is a 26-episode TV anime series produced by Sunrise (now Namco Bandai Film Works). The first season aired for 13 episodes from October 1999 to January 2000, followed by the second season with another 13 episodes from January to March 2003. The retro-style stylish design and the incorporation of elements from American comics and cartoons made the series popular not only in Japan but also overseas. Sunrise's official English website for the series describes the anime's synopsis as such: Forty years ago everyone in Paradigm City lost their memory. But humanity continues to survive. They’ve learned to operate machinery, produce electricity, and go on living from day to day. Roger Smith is a Negotiator. He controls the Megadeus called the Big O.

Metallic Rouge is an original sci-fi anime created by studio Bones to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary . The series began on Crunchyroll on January 10 as part of its winter 2024 lineup . Rouge Redstar, the main character, is an android (known as a Nean) tasked with destroying the Immortal Nine. However, the Immortal Nine are Neans just like Rouge who wish to be free from the society that oppresses them. From its plot to its futuristic settling, Metallic Rouge touches upon some key elements of the cyberpunk subgenre. Let's explore a little of what cyberpunk actually is and then get into a rec list of six anime to watch if you like Metallic Rouge . What is Cyberpunk? The origin of cyberpunk is uncertain indeed. Many enthusiasts trace its birth to some William Gibson novels that are known as the " Sprawl Trilogy ". Many cyberpunk titles can be traced back to these works. Related:...

Kouta Hirano's action-horror manga "Hellsing" begins 100 years or so after Abraham Van Helsing defeated Dracula. Contrary to the account of Bram Stoker, the Lord of Vampires was not slain, merely cowed, and became the Helsing (eventually Hellsing) family retainer. Abraham's descendant, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, leads an eponymous ghoul-hunting organization. Her top agents are the rechristened Alucard and his newly sired protégé, Seras "Police Girl" Victoria.

Hellsing's enemies are two-fold. First, there's Iscariot, the Vatican's vampire slayers who rival the Protestant Hellsing; Father Alexander Anderson is particularly dead-set on killing Alucard. Second, there's Millennium, a Nazi remnant who experimented with the occult and still intends to bring about a thousand-year Third Reich. If you're not much of a manga reader, don't fear, for "Hellsing" has been adapted into an animated series. However, if you're looking to watch the "Hellsing" anime, you'll have to decide: Which one? That's right,...

As the boom of J-horror was slowly declining, the movement, which became popular for its blend of contemporary themes and Asian folklore, was looking at new shores that would provide new ideas. While directors such as Hideo Nakata were busy applying their stories within a western framework, sometimes with them helming the American remakes of their own films even, others, like Kiyoshi Kurosawa attempted to expand the borders of J-horror expressing concerns and fear about at that time upcoming technologies like the internet. Being one of the most popular names associated with J-horror after his film “Ju-on: The Grudge” (2002) as well as its sequel, Takashi Shimizu would release “Marebito” the same year as the American remake of the film which had put his name on the map of international audiences.

Masuoka (Shinya Tsukamoto) lives a reclusive life in his apartment watching the recorded footage from his camera...

by Barry Hollywood

Masuoka is obsessed with fear; he spends his nights seeking out strange happenings in Tokyo, recording them on his camera, but the extreme emotions he searches for remain elusive. Then he records a suicide in the subway system and upon reviewing it finds the fear he is looking for.

Searching the tunnels beneath Tokyo leads Masuoka to a series of caverns, one of which holds a strange girl, chained to the wall. He rescues her and brings her to his apartment but soon discovers the girl’s appetite for blood.

Marebito is an accomplished piece of filmmaking: Directed by Takashi Shimizu who gave us the Ju-on series of films and Rinne; written by Chiaki Konaka who also penned Serial Experiments Lain and Malice@Doll. Marebito was filmed in only 8 days and stars legendary director Shinya Tsukamoto, the creator of such cult classics as Tetsuo: The Iron Man,...