The Animation Station

[Philip J. Fry]

Trailer for “Gyokō no Nikuko-Chan” (Nikuko of the Fishing Harbor), the new film by Ayumu Watanabe (Children of the Sea).

Opens June 11 in Japan.

[Philip J. Fry]

A little round-up of what I've finished lately:

Chihayafuru 3, the third installment of the Karuta-themed show, remains excellent​ at building up tension and pulling off plot twists (the Karuta competitions are some of my favorite anime episodes ever) while still featuring a very likable set of characters, a very well executed love triangle and a bittersweet ending. This is definitely one of my favorite anime shows ever.

I don't have much to say about the final season of the new DuckTales except that it was very satisfying. We had a nice Darkwing Duck and a couple Gizmoduck episodes that were very good, a very meta sitcom episode in which Huey (Danny Pudi) pulled that Abed energy once more and a finale that was the right amount of epic and heartwarming. I wish we had remakes as carefully and lovingly put together as this one.

The Looney Tunes Show has... aged well, actually. I had written the show out a few years ago after a few episodes, but this time landed better. There isn't as much of the type of humor one would expect from a Looney Tunes product, relying a little more into a more grounded and subtle humor. Daffy is the best character of the show and Lola is better than ever. I could've lived without some of the musical numbers and specially the CGI coyote/road runner shorts though, thankfully the latter are gone from S2.

The first season of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, a show centered on this NEET who is reincarnated in this fantasy world while retaining all his previous memories, engaged me quickly. We have our fair share of D&D shenanigans, a kind of twisted family and what seems to be building toward a weird harem anime. It has a really nice balance of humor, adventure and suspense.

[Philip J. Fry]

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Whaaa?

[Philip J. Fry]

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[Philip J. Fry]

"As the fourth and final(?) season draws near, I took a look at the third season and how it, and other media children-teens are drawn to, approach the topic of violence and death. Fun times ahead."

One of the better essays about the subject I've seen lately. Also, heavy Infinity Train spoilers.

[Philip J. Fry]

[

Show Spoiler

Best Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios

Best Indie Feature
Wolfwalkers
Cartoon Saloon / AppleTv / Gkids

Best Special Production
The Snail and the Whale
Magic Light Pictures

Best Short Subject
Souvenir Souvenir
Blast Production

Best Sponsored
There’s a Monster in my Kitchen
Cartoon Saloon, Mother

Best TV/Media – Preschool
The Adventures of Paddington “Paddington Digs a Tunnel to Peru�
Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Nickelodeon Animation Studio

Best TV/Media – Children
Hilda “Chapter 9: The Deerfox�
Silvergate Media for Netflix

Best TV/Media – General Audience
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal “Coven Of The Damned�
Cartoon Network Studios

Best Student Film
La Bestia
Student directors: Marlijn Van Nuenen, Ram Tamez, Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt
Gobelins, l’école de l’image

Best FX for TV/Media
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous “Welcome to Jurassic World�
DreamWorks Animation
Emad Khalili, Ivan Wang

Best FX for Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Tolga Göktekin, Carl Kaphan, Hiroaki Narita, Enrique Vila, Kylie Wijsmuller

Best Character Animation – TV/Media
Hilda
Silvergate Media for Netflix
David Laliberté

Best Character Animation – Animated Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Michal Makarewicz

Best Character Animation – Live Action
The Mandalorian
Production Company: Lucasfilm
FX Production Company: Image Engine
Nathan Fitzgerald, Leo Ito, Chris Rogers, Eung Ho Lo, Emily Luk

Best Character Animation – Video Game
Marvels Spider-Man Miles Morales
Insomniac Games
Brian Wyser, Michael Yosh, Danny Garnett, David Hancock

Best Character Design – TV/Media
Amphibia “The Shut-In!�
Disney TV Animation
Joe Sparrow

Best Character Design – Feature
Wolfwalkers
Apple Original Films/GKIDS
Federico Pirovano

Best Direction – TV/Media
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal “Plague Of Madness�
Cartoon Network Studios
Genndy Tartakovsky

Best Direction – Feature
Wolfwalkers
Apple Original Films / GKIDS
Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart

Best Music – TV/Media
Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Victory and Death�
Lucasfilm Animation
Kevin Kiner

Best Music – Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste

Best Production Design – TV/Media
Shooom’s Odyssey
Picolo Pictures
Julien Bisaro

Best Production Design – Feature
Wolfwalkers
Apple Original Films/GKIDS
MarÃ*a Pareja, Ross Stewart, Tomm Moore

Best Storyboarding – TV/Media
Looney Tunes Cartoons
Warner Bros. Animation
Andrew Dickman

Best Storyboarding – Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Trevor Jimenez

Best Voice Acting – TV/Media
Tales of Arcadia: Wizards “Our Final Act�
DreamWorks Animation
David Bradley (Merlin)

Best Voice Acting – Feature
Wolfwalkers
Apple Original Films/GKIDS
Eva Whittaker (Mebh Óg MacTÃ*re)

Best Writing – TV/Media
Big Mouth “The New Me�
Netflix
Andrew Goldberg, Patti Harrison, Andrew Goldberg

Best Writing – Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Pete Docter, Mike Jones, Kemp Powers

Best Editorial – TV/Media
Hilda “Chapter 9: The Deerfox�
Silvergate Media for Netflix
John McKinnon

Best Editorial – Feature
Soul
Pixar Animation Studios
Kevin Nolting, Gregory Amundson, Robert Grahamjones, Amera Rizk

]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

[Philip J. Fry]

My thoughts on Infinity Train's fourth season

[Philip J. Fry]

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[Philip J. Fry]

[Wryan]

Oh shit, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't even realize we were gonna get one more season.

[Wryan]

Ooh a new season of Love Death + Robots!

[Philip J. Fry]