https://www.scmp.com/rss/515857/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com James Mottram James Mottram 2.5/5 stars Premiering in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, Japanese anime A New Dawn is a strange beast indeed. By turns baffling and beguiling, the 76-minute miniature blends issues of climate change and the cosmos, wrapping them up in a generational story that even touches on the pervasive powers of social media. Imaginative though it may be, whether the film is suitable for children or teenagers – despite the youth of the characters – is open to debate. Set in rural... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3343958/berlin-2026-new-dawn-movie-review-climate-crisis-meets-fireworks-confusing-anime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3343958/berlin-2026-new-dawn-movie-review-climate-crisis-meets-fireworks-confusing-anime?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 04:15:07 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3.5/5 stars A young woman is forced to live the last day of her life on repeat in the animated sci-fi thriller All You Need Is Kill, which is adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 light novel, best known as the inspiration for the Tom Cruise action film Edge of Tomorrow (2014). Marking the feature directing debut of Kenichiro Akimoto, All You Need Is Kill unfolds in the wake of an alien invasion. It follows a plucky heroine who must hone her combat skills and study the otherworldly aggressors... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3342213/all-you-need-kill-movie-review-japanese-novel-behind-edge-tomorrow-gets-animated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3342213/all-you-need-kill-movie-review-japanese-novel-behind-edge-tomorrow-gets-animated?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Feb 2026 13:15:36 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars To be(head) or not to be(head)… that is the question in Scarlet, Mamoru Hosoda’s Hamlet-inspired anime. Playing out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival, this is a curious, gender-flipped tale of vengeance and forgiveness, one that asks us to give peace a chance. The story largely takes place in an “Otherworld”, a purgatory of sorts where the past and future are interwoven and Eternity is just a staircase away. It is here where we find the flame-haired Scarlet (voiced by... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324414/venice-2025-scarlet-movie-review-mamoru-hosodas-hamlet-inspired-anime-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324414/venice-2025-scarlet-movie-review-mamoru-hosodas-hamlet-inspired-anime-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 02:32:18 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 3/5 stars For more than a century, movies have been adapted from novels, plays, television shows and real-life historical events. But recently, cinematic spectacles have derived from board games, toys, emojis – and now biscuits. Dream Animals: The Movie is a colourful, family-friendly animation inspired by the Japanese snack of the same name. The bite-sized animal-shaped cookies emblazoned with words such as “lion”, “monkey”, and “rabbit” – in English – have been a beloved confection around... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3317400/dream-animals-movie-review-japanese-animation-inspired-biscuits-cracking-fun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3317400/dream-animals-movie-review-japanese-animation-inspired-biscuits-cracking-fun?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:45:08 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 2/5 stars Anime compilation films are far from a new phenomenon. Since the 1970s, feature-length re-edits of animated television series have been a mainstay in Japanese cinemas. Offering diehard fans the opportunity of a big-screen refresher, while giving franchise newcomers a crash course that is all killer no filler, every self-respecting series from Space Battleship Yamato to Mobile Suit Gundam has swung for a splashy theatrical cash grab. Recently, Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan both... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310117/kaiju-no-8-mission-recon-movie-review-sci-fi-anime-compilation-not-par?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3310117/kaiju-no-8-mission-recon-movie-review-sci-fi-anime-compilation-not-par?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 May 2025 10:15:07 +0000 4/5 stars Tatsuki Fujimoto’s 2021 manga Look Back is an uncharacteristically nostalgic one-shot from the creator of Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man. Exploring the relationship between two schoolgirls who share a love of drawing, the story poses questions about what motivates artists to create, and has themes of jealousy, grief and friendship. Brought vividly to the screen by animator Kiyotaka Oshiyama, in a film clocking in at just under an hour, those emotions and sentiments can now be experienced... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3275917/look-back-movie-review-japanese-manga-adaptation-lovely-look-art-drawing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3275917/look-back-movie-review-japanese-manga-adaptation-lovely-look-art-drawing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Aug 2024 01:45:08 +0000 Launched in 2023, Shake Hands is an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan. Its founders aim to provide job training and improve confidence for people with autism, who usually struggle to cope in Japan’s often stressful work environment. Developmental disorders have historically not been taken seriously in Japan. But in recent years scientific studies have helped foster growing awareness about the conditions. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3275596/japan-kyoto-anime-studio-opens-job-opportunities-autistic-artists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3275596/japan-kyoto-anime-studio-opens-job-opportunities-autistic-artists?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:10:27 +0000 3/5 stars The second half of Tomoyuki Kurokawa’s sprawling science fiction extravaganza – which sees life go on in Tokyo despite the alien spacecraft that have hovered over the Japanese city for years – dives right back into the action at the exact cliffhanger moment that closed out Part 1. A military strike on one of the smaller spaceships triggers a multitude of diminutive extraterrestrials to literally rain down upon the city. As they scatter to its four corners, we are warned that this point... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3271518/dead-dead-demons-dededede-destruction-part-2-movie-review-sci-fi-anime-ends-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3271518/dead-dead-demons-dededede-destruction-part-2-movie-review-sci-fi-anime-ends-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jul 2024 03:15:11 +0000 4/5 stars For a tight-knit group of hormonally charged high-school girls, there are far more pressing matters than invading aliens in Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction. Adapted from a manga series by Inio Asano, this two-part anime epic unfolds in the shadow of a giant spacecraft, which appeared over Tokyo three years earlier. Since that day, the aliens’ presence has triggered action from the government, polarising political activism and violence and destruction, resulting in a volatile... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3269903/dead-dead-demons-dededede-destruction-part-1-movie-review-anime-mixes-teen-drama-aliens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3269903/dead-dead-demons-dededede-destruction-part-1-movie-review-anime-mixes-teen-drama-aliens?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2024 09:20:43 +0000 2/5 stars Audiences have been inundated this year with stories about imaginary friends, from John Krasinski’s effects-heavy IF, to insidious Blumhouse horror film Imaginary and Benedict Cumberbatch’s lumbering, Muppet-like alter-ego in the Netflix series Eric. They may address the subject matter differently, through whimsy, terror or trauma, but at the centre of each is a tale of abandonment resulting from a loss of innocence. Yoshiyuki Momose’s animated film The Imaginary joins this growing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3267443/netflix-movie-review-imaginary-unimaginative-animation-japans-studio-ponoc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3267443/netflix-movie-review-imaginary-unimaginative-animation-japans-studio-ponoc?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2024 03:36:45 +0000 4/5 stars Inspired by one of the most iconic superhero franchises of all time, Ultraman: Rising is a new English-language take on the towering alien protector, from first-time director Shannon Tindle. Tindle is best known for his story and character work on animated fantasy Kubo and the Two Strings; his new adventure follows young baseball star Ken Sato (voiced by Christopher Sean), who returns to Japan after living and playing in the United States for the past 20 years. Sato must reconcile his... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3265625/netflix-movie-review-ultraman-rising-wholesome-take-japanese-superhero?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3265625/netflix-movie-review-ultraman-rising-wholesome-take-japanese-superhero?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2024 16:01:09 +0000 2/5 stars Striving to be a people-pleaser can leave your own life empty and unsatisfied. This is the lesson learned by high-schooler Hiiragi in A Whisker Away co-director Tomotaka Shibayama’s new animated fantasy, My Oni Girl. The second feature film produced by Studio Colorido exclusively for Netflix (after 2022’s Drifting Home), My Oni Girl follows the disenfranchised teenager as he is whisked off on a magical adventure by a mysterious girl from another realm. Growing up in the mountainous... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3263055/netflix-movie-review-my-oni-girl-japanese-fantasy-anime-whisker-away-co-director-frustratingly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3263055/netflix-movie-review-my-oni-girl-japanese-fantasy-anime-whisker-away-co-director-frustratingly?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 May 2024 09:15:24 +0000 The creator of Japan’s hugely popular and influential Dragon Ball comics and anime cartoons, Akira Toriyama, has died aged 68, his production team said on Friday. First serialised in 1984, Dragon Ball is one of the bestselling manga franchises of all time and has spawned countless anime series, films and video games. Toriyama died on March 1 because of a blood clot on the brain, a statement posted to the official Dragon Ball account on X, formerly Twitter, said. “It’s our deep regret that he... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3254664/fans-mourns-japans-dragon-ball-manga-creator-akira-toriyamas-death-overwhelmed-sadness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3254664/fans-mourns-japans-dragon-ball-manga-creator-akira-toriyamas-death-overwhelmed-sadness?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2024 08:20:17 +0000 4/5 stars Conceived as part of celebrations to commemorate the centenary of the birth of GeGeGe no Kitaro creator Shigeru Mizuki, The Birth of Kitaro: Mystery of GeGeGe presents the previously untold origins of the one-eyed demon boy, and the tragic fate that befell his father. Fans of the hugely popular animated series should approach with caution, however, as this animated fantasy adopts a considerably darker and more violent tone than its predominantly playful predecessor. Set in 1956 –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254176/birth-kitaro-mystery-gegege-movie-review-japanese-anime-series-dark-violent-prequel-rewarding-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254176/birth-kitaro-mystery-gegege-movie-review-japanese-anime-series-dark-violent-prequel-rewarding-its?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:15:11 +0000 2/5 stars In the new animated fantasy Maboroshi, an environmental disaster traps a small-town community in a bizarre time freeze, which sends its adolescent residents into an angst-ridden tailspin. Written and directed by prolific manga artist Mari Okada, the film blends themes of loneliness, insecurity and jealousy into a potent cocktail of teenage disenchantment, but the persistently clumsy symbolism and repetitive confrontations soon overshadow any genuinely insightful commentary about the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3249633/netflix-movie-review-maboroshi-japanese-fantasy-anime-riddled-annoying-teenage-angst-addresses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3249633/netflix-movie-review-maboroshi-japanese-fantasy-anime-riddled-annoying-teenage-angst-addresses?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jan 2024 11:45:12 +0000 4/5 stars “I have grown old,” says a wizened, mystical character in The Boy and The Heron, announcing that he seeks a successor. Undoubtedly it’s a line that resonates, for this is the latest – and possibly last, as they always say – film by Japanese animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki. The co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of such avowed classics as My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away is 82 years old. He last made a film in 2013, The Wind Rises, before announcing his retirement. That... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237448/boy-and-heron-movie-review-hayao-miyazaki-japanese-animation-legend-goes-out-high-if-does-turn-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237448/boy-and-heron-movie-review-hayao-miyazaki-japanese-animation-legend-goes-out-high-if-does-turn-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:15:15 +0000 4/5 stars Bursting off the screen in a cacophony of improvised jam sessions and electrifying solo performances, Blue Giant proves an intoxicating kaleidoscope of ambition, passion, sacrifice and all that jazz. Employing the same cutting-edge technology as recent blockbuster The First Slam Dunk, director Yuzuru Tachikawa fuses motion capture and rotoscoping with traditional animation techniques to create a fully immersive blend of image, story and genuine musical dexterity that will delight anime... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3230718/blue-giant-movie-review-japanese-anime-hiromi-ueharas-dazzling-jazz-soundtrack-impresses-its-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3230718/blue-giant-movie-review-japanese-anime-hiromi-ueharas-dazzling-jazz-soundtrack-impresses-its-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Aug 2023 05:15:08 +0000 4/5 stars Japanese director Makoto Shinkai delivers another beguiling animation in Suzume, a film that plays equally well for young and old. Featured in competition at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival – an honour it well deserves – Suzume is inspired by the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Honshu island in Japan in 2011. Weaving fantasy elements into a contemporary story, one that takes audiences on a picaresque journey around Japan, Shinkai creates... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3211243/berlin-2023-suzume-movie-review-fantastical-coming-age-tale-japanese-animation-director-makato?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3211243/berlin-2023-suzume-movie-review-fantastical-coming-age-tale-japanese-animation-director-makato?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 15:15:10 +0000 5/5 stars Featuring some of the most exhilarating basketball sequences in the history of cinema, The First Slam Dunk is a dazzling tour de force both on and off the court. Seamlessly integrating 3D computer graphics, motion capture and traditional hand-drawn animation styles, it is not only an enthralling sports movie but also a compelling character drama. The creator of the original series, Takehiko Inoue, writes and directs this barnstorming, five-star masterpiece that is sure to delight... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3206246/first-slam-dunk-movie-review-5-star-animated-masterpiece-breathes-new-life-iconic-basketball-manga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3206246/first-slam-dunk-movie-review-5-star-animated-masterpiece-breathes-new-life-iconic-basketball-manga?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 04:15:07 +0000 3/5 stars Would you sacrifice the time you have in the present in order to recapture something lost from your past? The discovery by a pair of melancholy teenagers of a magical tunnel poses precisely this quandary in Tomohisa Taguchi’s new animated feature film The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes. Adapted from the award-winning light novel by Mei Hachimoku, this beautifully realised tale of first love and adolescent angst achieves an emotional maturity through its weighty themes of grief,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3205518/tunnel-summer-exit-goodbyes-movie-review-japanese-animated-teen-romance-tackles-grief-abandonment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3205518/tunnel-summer-exit-goodbyes-movie-review-japanese-animated-teen-romance-tackles-grief-abandonment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:45:09 +0000 4/5 stars A group of young women – who were members of a high school camping club – reunite a few years after graduating to build a campsite in Laid-Back Camp the Movie. Adapted from the popular manga series created by writer/illustrator Afro, this feature-length sequel continues on from the two-season anime series, with the original voice cast and director Yoshiaki Kyogoku all returning. A huge success in Japan, Laid-Back Camp, otherwise known as Yuru Camp, has helped nurture enthusiasm in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3194746/laid-back-camp-movie-review-japanese-camping-anime-serene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3194746/laid-back-camp-movie-review-japanese-camping-anime-serene?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Oct 2022 04:45:13 +0000 3/5 stars A feature-length prequel to the hugely successful Jujutsu Kaisen anime series, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 follows a young bullied teenager who transfers to a special school that will train him to master a monstrous curse that has hold of him. Series writer Hiroshi Seko and director Park Sung-hoo take the reins once again for a story that incorporates elements of dark fantasy and horror alongside themes of grief, self-doubt and everyday adolescent angst. Gege Akutami’s original manga series was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3178367/jujutsu-kaisen-0-movie-review-japanese-animated-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3178367/jujutsu-kaisen-0-movie-review-japanese-animated-blockbuster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 May 2022 10:45:15 +0000 2/5 stars Even the most casual anime fan should recognise Tetsuro Araki’s latest offering, Bubble, for the shamelessly derivative enterprise that it is. Set in a generically dystopian future, ravaged by a non-specific apocalyptic event that has left a gang of indistinguishable orphans to fend for themselves, this cyberpunk retelling of The Little Mermaid boasts as much substance and narrative depth as the celestial bubbles that litter the dilapidated cityscape. Araki has worked on some of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3174348/netflix-movie-review-bubble-cyberpunk-little-mermaid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3174348/netflix-movie-review-bubble-cyberpunk-little-mermaid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Apr 2022 03:15:08 +0000 3.5/5 stars Kanna is a troubled 12-year-old who has lost her passion for running since the death of her mother. But upon learning that her mum was in fact an “Idaten”, or god of running, Kanna discovers that those duties have now fallen to her. Blending the mundane with the mythological, modern life with ancient tradition, Takana Shirai’s animated feature Child of Kamiari Month is a surprisingly dark and sombre examination of grief and its lingering impact, especially on the young. Throughout... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3166341/netflix-movie-review-child-kamiari-month-japanese-anime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3166341/netflix-movie-review-child-kamiari-month-japanese-anime?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Feb 2022 11:45:21 +0000