Kizumonogatari Tekketsu: SHAFT Ups the Ante for The Silver Screen
When first touching down in Japan in late 2011, the one big theatrical anime I was looking forward to feasting my eyes on was Kizumonogatari–at the time slated for release in Fall of 2012. As the story goes, the promised time would come and go with little more than a...
This Cold Money-Driven World and Magical Girls: SHAFT Completely Sells Out
SHAFT always struck me as a unique studio. Their keen eye for design as a result of tight budgets and scheduling, their ties to subculture with the songs used in their shows, and their off-beat otaku edge made them a studio worth paying attention to. It also helped that...
With All That Said, I’ll Probably Watch it Again on Blu-Ray: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Over the past few years I’ve become a rather big fan of director Shinbou Akiyuki and studio SHAFT. However, my relationship with these two has naturally had some rough patches, especially when it comes to the Shinbou side of the equation: Between keeping up with his current collaborations with...