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Thunder God: Sam Humphries, the consulting editor of Raijin, gives Akadot an exclusive interview about the first weekly manga anthology to hit America. Part II
07/26/02 interviewed by Karl Theodorson and Isaac Lew
written by Trisha Kunimoto

Thunder God: Sam Humphries, the consulting editor of Raijin, gives Akadot an exclusive interview about the first weekly manga anthology to hit America.
07/25/02 interviewed by Karl Theodorson and Isaac Lew
written by Trisha Kunimoto

Mutsu Water Looper: Shy at first, this talented little fish may be the pet of choice for the new millennium.
07/02/02 by Trisha Kunimoto

Virtual Beauties 2020: From Final Fantasy's Aki Ross to e-frontier/Blue Moon Studio's Fei Fei, Mona Abdelnaby reviews this ultimate 3D Collection.
06/28/02 by Mona Abdelnaby

Pontiki: Akadot takes a look at Japan's new version of Mr. Potato Head for the next generation.
06/25/02 by Trisha Kunimoto and assisted by Yoshiko Noda

Tokyo Tribe 2: East meets west in Santa Inoue's ultimate urban tale of Japanese street gangs' struggle for survival.
06/14/02 by Karl Theodorson and Trisha Kunimoto

Who You Gonna Call? Gerry Poulos explores the trials and tribulations of bringing Excel Saga to the English-speaking world with Excel Excel herself - Jessica Calvello.
06/13/02 by Gerry Poulos

Chatting with Larry Kasanoff: Threshold Entertainment's Larry Kasanoff takes a timeout to give Akadot an exclusive interview and a sneak peek into the live-action Ninja Scroll movie.
06/04/02 by Karl Theodorson and assisted by Tim Law

Traveling on a Tune: Former Akadot Webmaster Fawn Lau relates her encounter with the musically talented Rice and Ramen Duet at as they travel to Anime Expo on only their guitar cases. Or violin and cello cases, as it were.
05/17/02 by Fawn Lau

GTO Live: Tokyopop has the manga and anime covered, but who left that dreamy Takashi Sorimachi out in the cold? Trisha Kunimoto gives the live-action GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka the attention it deserves.
05/14/02 by Trisha Kunimoto

Nevermind: Yoshitomo Nara is all the rage in Japan's modern art scene, and after Takashi Murakami's "Superflat" exhibition and Nara's fequent associations with anime, it won't be long until the US smothers him as well.
04/18/02 by Tim Law

Brilliant Moonlight: California based video game developer TriLunar offers a quick glance into their first title, Dragonkind, and how the lines between film and game are blurring.
04/10/02 by Tim Law

The Favorite Uncle of Anime: Part III. Fred Ladd realizes how anime has grown in America and its children, not simply as an entertainment medium, but as a child.
04/04/02 by Gerry Poulos

The Favorite Uncle of Anime: Part II. Fred Ladd relates Astro Boy's sad fate and dispels the popular myth anime's big eyes come from Mickey.
03/29/02 by Gerry Poulos

The Favorite Uncle of Anime: Part I of Gerry Poulos's interview with Fred Ladd, the man who brought anime to America. (Astro Boy shows up here and there.)
03/28/02 by Gerry Poulos

Letters to the Editor: Tim Law, your ever lovin' editor, decides to cop out and get other people to answer this batch of letters. Thanks for playing!
03/19/02

Zen and the Art of Animation Marketing: The Japanese-American Cultural and Community Center hosts a FUNimation sponsored anime screening. But, is Dragonball Z really culture?
03/13/02 by Luis Reyes

Power to the People: San Jose, California public television station KTEH introduces their new anime block expanding on past tradition and garnering new support for public broadcasting.
03/08/02 by Luis Reyes

2002 A.D.: #1 anime distributor in North America A.D. Vision reveals their plans for the year in an exclusive interview with Matt Greenfield.
03/01/02 by Gerry Poulos

Making its Presence Known: Independent industry heavy-weight Production I.G debuts its Official English Website today.
02/06/02 by Tim Law

Commandingly Timid: An in-depth interview with leading shoujo-manga artist Watase Yu. From developing character conflict to dropping out of art school, Luis Reyes explores how she stays on top.
02/01/02 by Luis Reyes

Zipping Through Europe: Satoshi Kon speaks briefly about his latest film, Millenium Actress, while on tour.
01/30/02 by Olivier de Doncker

The Brief and Hurried Encounter with Hayao: Olivier de Doncker pulls a quick Q & A with Hayao Miyazaki.
01/30/02 by Olivier de Doncker

Letters to the Editor: Featuring an exclusive Newtype update! Plus - Die Dubbers Die versus Reading's Really Rong.
01/28/02

Ohayocon 2002: Days 2 & 3. Gerry Poulos continues his report of Cleveland's "Biggest Little Con."
01/25/02 by Gerry Poulos

And Now for Something Completely Different: At a con? Catch a special glimpse into Angora Deb's Improv Workshop!
01/25/02 by Gerry Poulos

Ohayocon 2002: Day 1. Gerry Poulos details the successes, and mishaps, of Cleveland's "Biggest Little Con."
01/23/02 by Gerry Poulos

Sunao Katabuchi’s Feminist Mirror: The director of critically acclaimed Princess Arete spends some time with Akadot on Parisian detail.
01/16/02 by Luis Reyes and Olivier de Doncker

The Academy’s Lack of Vision: Do the Oscars truly reflect the best in cinema? Vampire Hunter D shakes up the status quo.
01/11/02 by Luis Reyes

Just a Chat Before I Go: Kenji Kawai, anime composer extraordinaire responsible for scoring such titles as Ghost in the Shell and the recent Avalon, had a few minutes to spare on a promotional trip to Paris. Lucian James puts the man in context.
12/19/01 by Lucian James

From Guide to Encyclopedia: A review of Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements' recent publication. Luis Reyes polishes off The Anime Encyclopedia
12/17/01 by Luis Reyes

Ghibli & Chips: UK correspondent Dan Barry delivers an exclusive across-the-pond look at Studio Ghibli: The Art of Japanese Animation held at London's Barbican Art Centre.
12/10/01 by Dan Barry

Amusing Himself to Death: Back in August, Owen Thomas sat down with FLCL director Kazuyo Tsurumaki. Akadot tried to go Exploding Plastic Inevitable as well, but we couldn't help sticking to a few more conventions than Tsurumaki's post-post-modern masterpiece.
10/17/01 by Owen Thomas

L.A.'s New Toy Box: Located in West Los Angeles directly across from the trendy Westside Pavilion, OmochaBox makes its persence known with the Grand Opening celebration of its highly anticipated retail store.
10/17/01 by Tim Law

It Hasn't Been Done Until it's Ben Dunn: Artist, Businessman, this American manga artist lets us in on the history of an indy comic publication, how to sell comics, and Superman's nasty habits.
10/03/01 by Luis Reyes and Tim Law

Letters to the Editor: Akadot's level-headed editor, Luis Reyes, steadies himself for the praise and abuse of our esteemed readers in our latest installment of Letters to the Editor.
09/28/01

No Limits: Singer-songwriter Mari Iijima, best known for her role as Lynn Minmei in "Macross," talks about the duality of her fame between Japan and the US.
09/26/01 by Luis Reyes

Cartoon or Bust - Part II: Catch part 2 of Warner Brother's animation head Ken Duer's candid assessment of the animation industry in the US and how it may change because of the Japanese industry. Also read part 1.
09/24/01 by Tim Law and Luis Reyes

"D" is for Distribution: The new thetrical release "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust"features an original English language script and production credits on both sides of the Pacific. This stunning American-Japanese co-production is sure to satisfy audiences worldwide with its cross-cultural themes and direction.
09/24/01 by Tim Law

Getting More For Less And Putting the Market to the Test: This year, ADV and Bandai have re-released discs of older series that include more than the average number of episodes. Luis Reyes speculates that this is one of the growing pains for a market that intends to stay.
09/19/01 by Luis Reyes

The "Lockdown" Monster: Cartoon Network launches into their second highly anticipated "Total Immersion Cartoon" event today. This time, TOM and Sara enlist the viewers to defend the animated action-adventure programming block, "Toonami."
09/17/01 by Tim Law

Cartoon or Bust - Part I: Ken Duer, head of Warner Brothers Animation, speaks candidly about the current lull in the animation industry - the scaling back of production, the closure of several major animation studios - and purports a light at the end of the tunnel in part one of a two part interview.
09/14/01 by Tim Law and Luis Reyes

FUNimation to Chase Otaku "Blues" Away: New Akadot writer William Alexander peeks into the soon to be released "Blue Gender."
09/06/01 by Bill Alexander

Michael Dobson on "Jin-Roh": The voice of "Jin-Roh's" lead, Kazuki Fuse, speaks about his career, his involvement with this film, and killing his voice acting brother, Paul.
Luis Reyes interviews the Canadian dub seiyuu at the premiere of "Jin-Roh."
09/03/01 by Luis Reyes

As Lucid As it is Awesome, "Millennium Actress": Madhouse, Klockworx and Genco masterminded Satoshi Kon's follow up to his much lauded "Perfect Blue," "Millennium Actress," which has yet to even be released in Japan but has enjoyed accolades at film festivals around the world.
Luis Reyes takes a look at the film as well as its marketing effort here in the United States. And he introduces Sara Ellis' interview with writer Sadayuki Murai, who teams up with Kon again after their successful partnership for "Perfect Blue." Also, check out Anime News Network's report on "Millennium Actress" at the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada.
08/31/01 by Sara Ellis and Luis Reyes

Kia Asamiya Says "I Like the Fans": The jovial mangaka, a frumpy mop and horn-rimmed glasses festooning his round smiling face, is part way through a stellar rise to fame.
Luis Reyes steals about twenty minutes away from him at San Diego's ComicCon.
08/29/01 by Luis Reyes

It's The End of the World As We Know It: CLAMP's long-running manga enjoyed a film adaptation in 1996 with "X: The Movie."
Now the title invades the small screen with a new OVA and television series. Tim Law lays down the facts.
08/27/01 by Tim Law

Ghost in the Web: Twelve years after his death, Osamu Tezuka's manga are still being animated.
Madhouse has tackled his "Metropolis," while a far more modest endeavor undertaken by Tezuka Production Co. and CONTENTS JAPAN brings some of his other classic manga to life online and for a price.
08/20/01 by Tim Law

The XYZ Affair: Over the last year, Akadot has spoken with myriad of animators in different capacities, all of whom had fascinating views on both the Japanese and American animation industries.
Here is an interview with three animators more interested in picking our brains for how Americans understand anime than answering questions about how the Japanese understand the American scene.
08/17/01 by Akadot Staff

Chatting with Ishikawa: "Jin-Roh," "Ghost in the Shell 2," "Blood" - there's a lot on Production I.G's plate.
I.G's president, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, chats candidly with Akadot editor Luis Reyes about how he's approaching all of this work.
08/15/01 by Luis Reyes

Cosplay Nation: Occasionally readers approach Akadot about running pieces on various aspects of the fan community.
This week Rachael Faught offers this report on the cosplay contingency of fandom.
08/15/01 by Rachael Faught

Kenji Kamiyama on Anime: "Blood" script writer Kenji Kamiyama speaks with Akadot's Japan correspondent Sara Ellis about vampires, wolves and how the anime industry is changing.
08/13/01 by Sara Ellis and Luis Reyes

Writing Anime for a New Age: Sadayuki Murai has written for some of the most provocative, edgy and challenging anime around including "Perfect Blue," "Cowboy Bebop" and Madhouse's recent "Boogiepop Phantom."
Straight from Tokyo, Sara Ellis speaks face to face with the screenwriter about his more popular works thus far in this first in a trilogy of interviews with the compelling writer that will appear on Akadot in the coming months.
08/10/01 by Sara Ellis and Luis Reyes

Toonami's Tom: Having spent over a decade in the trenches of voice acting, Steve Blum now voices the robot Tom for the Cartoon Network's Toonami action block.
Akadot Editor Luis Reyes chats with him about role preparation, the consanguinity betwixt man and machine, and going to work in your shorts.
08/08/01 by Luis Reyes

"Bebop" Sets out for Uncharted Waters: "Cowboy Bebop's" role as standard bearer for non-children oriented Japanese animation is speculated in light of Cartoon Network's announcement that it would begin airing the bounty hunter/buddy series as part of its Adult Swim block on September 2.
08/08/01 by Tim Law

Animation Cels - Buyer Beware!: Animation cel collector and dealer Joe Palermo offers his expertise to novice cel collectors.
08/06/01 by Joe Palermo

New Generation Talks Shop: Jonathan Klein, president of New Generation Pictures, and Taliesin Jaffe, ADR writer for "3 X 3 Eyes" and an ADR director with New Generation, have been showing up at conventions, speaking to fans, and demonstrating that they want a strong connection with the fan community.
As an accompanying piece to this month's Dub Track by Ryan Mathews, Akadot issues this interview with New Generation about how they approached the dub for "3 X 3 Eyes."
08/03/01 by Luis Reyes

Irate in Northern Europe: Niels Viveen, a Dutch anime fan, speaks out about the deplorable state of anime distribution in Holland and implores the world anime community to take a more opportunistic gander at the country.
08/03/01

Portrait of an Otaku: The winner of Akadot's "World's Greatest Otaku" contest, Ron Ferrara, speaks one on one with Akadot staff writer Tony Cupo about his hobby, his life and anime fandom as a collective community.
08/01/01 by Tony Cupo

Never Mind the Otaku, Here's Anime in the UK: With the anime industry experiencing a boon around the globe, it's surprising that the UK is having such a difficult time getting hooked.
Shawna James glimpses the UK anime terrain.
07/20/01 by Shawna James

A Young One, Hisashi Abe: In the upward trajectory from animator to director, Hisashi Abe has proved his mettle as a crackerjack animation director on work ranging from Clamp's various projects to the upcoming "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust."
He has flexed his artistic muscle as the character designer for, among others, "Petshop of Horrors" and "Twilight of the Dark Master." Luis Reyes speaks with the animator who believes that at eighteen years in the industry, he's a young one.
07/20/01 by Luis Reyes

Letters to the Editor: Akadot's third installment of dialogue with our readership.
07/20/01

The Two Noelles - The Angels Did Sing: The English language dub voice for Noelle, Diana Kou, and the Japanese seiyuu for Noelle, Tomoko Kawakami may live half a world apart, but they each have similar instincts when it comes to their little angel.
Luis Reyes speaks with each of them about their experience with "Tenshi ni Narumon."
07/20/01 by Luis Reyes

That New Fangled Synch-Point Sound: Barely out of the starting gate, Synch-Point has already released it's first VHS tape and has several big releases on the horizon, including "FLCL" and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."
Luis Reyes probes the inner workings of the newest anime production house and attempts to answer lingering questions about where the company may be heading.
07/18/01 by Luis Reyes

The Life and Times of "Gundam" Part Three: On TV and out of this world
Paul Sudlow concludes his history of the "Gundam" phenomenon with this final installment, which delves into the franchise's sojourn to the United States and the boost that Cartoon Network gave it.
07/16/01 by Paul Sudlow

The Life and Times of "Gundam" Part Two: The Universal Century and the Alternate Universes
Paul Sudlow continues his chronicle of this global mecha phenomenon in the second part of his three part history of "Gundam," "The Universal Century and the Alternate Universes."
07/13/01 by Paul Sudlow

The Life and Times of the "Gundam" Part One: The Robot That Shook the Anime World
As a precursor to Cartoon Network's broadcast of the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" and "The 08th MS Team" later this month, Paul Sudlow looks back on over twenty years of "Gundam."
07/11/01 by Paul Sudlow

Packaging Delights: ADV, Bandai and Pioneer have so far been the only US companies to package DVDs with reversible covers.
Shawna James speculates about the slow but steady development of this industry practice.
07/09/01 by Shawna James

Anime On High: Shawna James takes a brief look at an anime club with a towering mascot. Meet the Tokyo Tower Anime Club.
07/06/01 by Shawna James

Broccoli Brandishes its Marketing Muscle: In the last three years, "Digi Charat" has gone from being a mascot for Gamers to a Japanese phenomenon.
Luis Reyes takes a look at how Gamers' parent company, Broccoli Co., Ltd., has merchandised millions out of its mascot and what the company plans for the US.
07/04/01 by Luis Reyes

The Master of Anime Love: Since its launch in November, Animelove.com has been growing slowly, but steadily.
Luis Reyes speaks to Anime-Love.com founder Tena Mastrangelo about the triumphs and travails about running this site dedicated to matchmaking for anime fans.
06/29/01 by Luis Reyes

Summer of Love Part Two - Yaoi: Fans explain the appeal of male on male erotic stories on a personal level and offer insight on a growing phenomenon.
06/27/01 by Luis Reyes

Summer of Love Part One - Hentai: The desire for one man to do what they say can't be done.
Akadot staff speaks to convention organizer Brad Jackson about the Sisyphusian task of launching HentaiCon.
06/25/01 by Luis Reyes

Letters to the Editor - "Robotech" Debacle: Letters from fans about Akadot's "Robotech" article.
06/22/01 by Luis Reyes

Answering the "Robotech" Debacle: Akadot Editor Luis Reyes issues an address and correction about factual errors in a recent Akadot interview with Carl Macek.
06/22/01 by Luis Reyes

The Death of the Wolf: Mamoru Oshii speaks about "Jin-Roh" as an elegy to, and perhaps a re-birth of, the wolf spirit
06/22/01 by Luis Reyes

The Duality of "Card Captor Sakura": A shoujo idiom in a politically correct market
Lisa Klassen and Luis Reyes take a look at where "Cardcaptors" has gone in a year and the disparate public opinion it's left in its wake.
06/20/01 by Luis Reyes and Lisa Klassen

Re-Visiting "Robotech:" Carl Macek's creation was driven by capitalism but sustained a life of its own
Len Cutler interviews writer/producer Carl Macek on "Robotech's" re-release from ADV and the long and winding road getting there.
06/15/01 by Len Cutler

Broccoli Stocks America: Gamers is taking a bite out of the US market
An incarnation of Broccoli's Japanese-based Gamers store will hit Los Angeles in July, joining the ranks of anime merchandise super-store Animate and used goods bargain basement Mandarake. Luis Reyes examines how the latest Japanese émigré sizes up.
06/11/01 by Luis Reyes

The "Jin-Roh" Theatrical Premiere: Bandai and Viz push for the Oscar
No sci-fi elements; no comedic relief; no apologies. Luis Reyes wonders if Production I.G's drama will be able to impact the US theatrical market?
06/06/01 by Luis Reyes

The O.G. OAV: A Look into Oxford Anime Vision and their penchant for shoujo
Shawna James reaches across the Atlantic for this month's anime club profile by taking a look at Oxford Anime Vision, an anime club in the midst of one of the most famous educational institutions in the world.
06/06/01 by Shawna James

"Blue Submarine No. 6" Revisited: The US voice cast casts a couple of penny's at the broader meaning of Gonzo's technical marvel
Akadot sits down with the US voice cast to muse on the story of a show lauded primarily for its technical innovations (or aberrations, as the case may be). Michael Granberry, Juliet Cesario and Scott Simpson offer their insight on this apocalyptic tale.
06/01/01 by Luis Reyes

Letters to the Editor: The dialogue begins
05/25/01

Anime Bigger Than Life: The summer of 2001 welcomes an ambitious run of anime feature films, and all the rumors that precede and follow
05/25/01 by Lisa Klassen (with an addendum by Luis Reyes)

Anime Music Videos vs. Music Video Animation: Anime's waltz with the Music Industry
05/21/01 by Shawna James

Chatting with Goto-san: A few minutes with the "G" of Production I.G
05/21/01 by Luis Reyes

Inside Production I.G: A candid and informal tour of the Production I.G's 3 Studio
05/18/01 by Shizuki Yamashita

Oh, The Fallen Mighty: A musing on anime's take on Tokyo Tower
05/16/01 by Luis Reyes

Sell, Sell, Cel: The tempestuous world of anime cel collecting
05/07/01 by Jenna Leigh

What's the Password: A club of uncompromised secrecy in the Mid-West
05/07/01 by Shawna James

Pleasing All The People: Fans against the machine, fans in the machine, and Toonami head Sean Akins at the controls
05/02/01 by Luis Reyes

Just an Old Fashioned New Fangled Show: Producer Masahiko Minami muses about "Cowboy Bebop's" past and future
04/30/01 by Sara Ellis and Luis Reyes

Rocking the Boat: Megumi Ogata on the heights of fandom and the depths of the Japanese animation industry
04/27/01 by Dany Johnson

Orchestral Maneuvers in Bebop: The quintessence of Bebop in the works of Yoko Kanno ... and the quintessence of Kanno in Bebop
04/23/01 by Luis Reyes

Muscling into the Anime Toy Box: McFarlane Toys scores in the anime arena with its collection of anime action figures
04/20/01 by Shawna James

A Very Organic Process: The American dub cast for "Cowboy Bebop" weighs in on the series
04/16/01 by Luis Reyes

Reaping Rewards off the Backs of the Faithful: The role of the fansubber in the modern anime distribution machine
04/13/01 by Len Cutler

Teenage Wasteland: Battling the Royale Mess of Japanese Education
04/11/01 by Sara Ellis

Changing Course: How anime might expand the animated feature market
04/06/01 by Luis Reyes

The Anime Trinity: Vancouver's anime clubs
04/06/01 by Luis Reyes

Akadot's First Annual Anime Academy Awards: A night of thankless number pushing while the rest of the world watched the Oscars
03/28/01 by Luis Reyes

Wandering Tokyo: The quest for anime treasure
03/23/01 by Ardith Santiago

Fun House: A tour of Studio Pierrot
03/16/01 by Shizuki Yamashita

In the Eye of the Beholder: Anime in animation's most high-profile awards
03/09/01 by Shawna James

G'day Anime: University of Melbourne's 3WA
03/02/01 by Shawna James

Privilege and Prejudice: The hierarchy of discrimination
02/23/01 by Sara Ellis

02/19/01 by Shizuki Yamashita

The Smell of the Newsprint, the Roar of the Fan: A fans-eye visit to Japan's Comike
02/08/01 by Ardith Santiago

02/05/01

The Samurai Kenshin: How the character transcends birthright
02/02/01 by Owen Thomas

The East Coast Anime Belt: Club in North Carolina widening the anime circle
02/02/01 by Shawna James

Digital Oceans: An analysis of the "Blue Submarine No. 6" phenomenon
01/31/01 by Luis Reyes

Talking in L.A.: Anime dubbing in an industry town
01/12/01 by Luis Reyes

Disneyland D'amour: Where the "Love Boat" meets "Fantasy Island" in modern Tokyo
01/12/01 by Sara K. Ellis

Yards and Yards of Anime: The MIT Anime Club
01/06/01 by Lisa Klassen

The Bottom of the Totem Pole: Voice Actors in an Industry World
12/30/00 by Sandy Yang and Luis Reyes

Forgiving Weakness: Takada Akemi's Feminine Perspective of Anime
12/15/00 by Luis Reyes

Aka Kon: Anime in the Great White North
Akadot's Luis Reyes reflects on Vancouver's first anime convention.
12/09/00 by Luis Reyes

Stranger in a Stranger Land: An outsider's look at cosplaying
Akadot staff writer Owen Thomas explores the cultural dynamic between cosplayer and fan.
12/02/00 by Owen Thomas

Anime Club Profile: Sweet Home Alabama (Auburn University Society of Anime/Manga)
12/01/00 by Jonah Morgan and Luis Reyes

Girl Power Make Up: The Beginnings of Shoujo in the US
11/25/00 by Sandy Yang

Swimming Upstream: Twenty Minutes with Mari iijima
11/17/00 by Luis Reyes

Doujinshi Among the Angels: Comic World 2 Hits Los Angeles
11/11/00 by Maxwell Porter

A Look Through the Tinted Glass: An Interview With Rumiko Takahashi
11/03/00 by Luis Reyes

Anime Club Profile: The Anime Greeks of UCLA
11/03/00 by Michael Rosen-Molina

9/01/00 by Stephanie Sheh

Walking on Eggshells: Anime and Censorship
8/01/00 by Luis Reyes