Welcome, all, to this week’s edition of your need to know anime news. A lot of good announcements for Netflix viewers, as well as some interesting industry insight. I did not mean to alliterate there, but it happened. Anyway, another installment of This Week in Anime. Here ya go:

Naotoshi Shida Comments On the Relationship Between Budget and Quality in Anime Productions

Naotoshi Shida, a well-respected animator whose past work includes things like Dragon Ball Z, Death Note and Toriko, recently discussed the idea of the link between a show’s budget and its overall quality. Many would reasonably assume that the more money a show has, the more talent they can afford and thus a better show, but Shida disputed this, saying on Twitter “Budget and quality are not related, but if the budget is too low, staff will not gather.”

Even with a lot of the cost-cutting measures studios take to make production more cost-efficient, It often costs anywhere from two to four million USD on the low end, and that is for shows that are expected to do poorly because of the time they air on TV, generally between 11 PM to 4 AM. To me, this serves as yet another example of why the industry needs serious reform. Paying young animators well and fostering a talented environment will mean that studios in the future can do more with less.

Kakegurui, Children of the Whales Coming to Netflix Soon

With Netflix being more involved in the Anime Industry as a whole, many of the recent shows that are getting hyped up as best of the season are being made Netflix Exclusives. Two of those shows, Kakegurui and Children of the Whales are being released to the platform in a matter of weeks. Children of the Whales, a show that aired in the Fall of 2017, is scheduled to be released on March 13th, and Kakegurui, which aired in Summer of 2017, is scheduled to be released on February 1st.

Personally, I’m excited. Both of these shows looked extremely entertaining when they were first previewed, and based on what other fans have said, they are definitely worth watching. So, I’m all in.

Castlevania to Return in the Summer, Says Writer

Many were surprised and intrigued by Netflix’s Castlevania anime, and has since gained the approval of those who have watched it. Fans fell in love with its high production value and callback to a beloved video game franchise. Warren Ellis, a writer for the show, tweeted on January 19th that “We’re coming back this summer, for eight episodes…”

https://twitter.com/warrenellis/status/954460793814376448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crunchyroll.com%2Fanime-news%2F2018%2F01%2F20-1%2Fanimated-castlevania-to-return-with-season-2-this-summer

As someone who has only seen one episode of the show’s four episode first season, I am still excited about this. The show’s first episode was more than enough to give it my seal of approval, and this announcement is exciting.

No Anime Film Was Selected For The Oscars

Anime films often get snubbed in the west by critics and different award shows because of their just being different, and this year was no different. Out of the five Anime films that were up for a nomination, including In This Corner of the World, A Silent Voice, Mary and the Witch’s Flower, Napping Princess, and Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale. Here are the films that were nominated:

I’ll be honest, I do not think all of the anime films that were under consideration this year deserved to be nominated. However, when The Boss Baby makes it into the nominations over A Silent Voice, we have a serious problem. In no way was a mediocre Dreamworks movie more deserving of an Oscar than one of the best things KyoAni has ever produced. The Academy really got things wrong here.

What are your thoughts on the stories this week? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos! Also, if you like what your reading, consider pledging to my Patreon to support this blog.