Charles Solomon

2 weeks ago | animationmagazine.net | Charles Solomon

Lazarus, which debuts April 5th on Adult Swim, is director Shinichiro Watanabe’s first TV series since Carole & Tuesday (2019). It’s good to have him back. Lazarus is an original adventure, but fans will detect echoes of Cowboy Bebop (1998), Samurai Champloo (2004) and Terror In Resonance (2014). Animators and fans should plan on watching it more than once: Lazarus is an intriguing, complicated series that requires more than one viewing to catch all the details.

Jan 24, 2025 | animationmagazine.net | Charles Solomon

Audiences associate the films of Studio Ghibli with their evocative depictions of nature: the summer rainstorm in My Neighbor Totoro, the forest ruled by the Deer God in Princess Mononoke, the woodlands that the tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs) fight to save from bulldozers and concrete in Pom Poko. But, a new book available for the first time in English instead looks at the man-made beauty of the buildings seen in the studio’s beloved movies.

Nov 27, 2024 | animationmagazine.net | Charles Solomon

***This article was written for the January ’25 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 346)***‘More than 35 years after Ranma Saotome first transformed from “boy-type” to “girl-type,” Takahashi’s comical story-telling lives on.’At a time when questions of sexual identity have become a hot-button issue, the new animated adaptation of Rumiko Takahashi’s gender-bending slapstick series Ranma 1/2 (on Netflix) provides a welcome dose of humor.

Oct 29, 2024 | animationmagazine.net | Charles Solomon

The nuns at the Catholic girls’ school in Nagasaki, Japan that Totsuko Higurashi attends in Naoko Yamada’s feature The Colors Within might well sing, “How do you solve a problem like Totsuko?” She spends a lot of time in chapel reciting the serenity prayer. She tries to follow the rigid rules, but she keeps stumbling into behavior the church considers improper — and even sinful.

Oct 3, 2024 | animationmagazine.net | Charles Solomon

Yoshimi Itazu’s The Concierge (2023) blends seemingly incompatible elements into a gentle, touching story. It’s a light comedy about a young woman growing into her dream job, but it carries a powerful, if understated, ecological message. It’s set in the 21st century and the characters use cellphones, but it evokes the palatial retail emporia of the 19th century — and a commitment to customer service that’s all but vanished.