Japan's anime studios have captured the world's attention. In this program, we go behind the scenes for an in-depth look at the most prominent studios — usually closed to the public — to find out the secrets behind their creativity.
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In a school in northeastern Japan, five friends in the animation club, Aoi, Ema, Shizuka, Misa, and Midori swear to complete a new anime called "Shinbutsu Konkou SHICHIFUKUJIN" with some donuts. Since then, day after day, the five spend all of their time on anime production. The awe of going from rough sketches to animation, and the awkward acting in the after-recording session... The final product was finished at the cultural fair six months later. After they graduated they still pursued animation and swore on some donuts that they would make another anime together.
Did you know that a lot of your favorite anime are based in real-life locations? Join us on a pilgrimage around Japan to the "Sanctuaries" that are the inspiration of some of the greatest anime!
A chronicle of the creative process of the legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, a passionate artisan, a steadfast trailblazer, and a father butting heads with his son…
The series is set as a reality TV-esque show following Barbie, her sisters and her friends in the day-to-day activities that take place in the Dreamhouse and surrounding areas. Much of the humor in the show derives from parodying and lampooning both the traditional reality TV format and the Barbie franchise itself.
Vikings is a 2012 BBC television documentary series written and presented by Neil Oliver charting the rise of the Vikings from prehistoric times to the empire of Canute.
Whether it's the famous steps of the Titanic or the legendary lunar landing of Apollo 13, there is no museum exhibit that the expert builders at Creative Arts Unlimited, Inc. can't re-create. Viewers will follow these highly skilled craftsmen as they use their expertise to meticulously rebuild history in museums across the nation. Led by Roger Barganier (co-founder, president and creative director), the team at Creative Arts Unlimited, approach each build with a determination to tell a story. Every exhibit that is produced by the Museum Men is engaging, informative, and historically accurate. No detail is overlooked, because for Creative Arts authenticity is everything. In addition to building for museums, Creative Arts also re-creates items for private collections. But whoever the recipient may be, every build poses unique challenges, including hard-to-find research, demanding schedules, and obsolete methods of construction.
Following the success of its webcomic and occasional animated shorts, Cyanide & Happiness has debuted its animated show. After a very successful Kickstarter campaign, the creators of the popular comic (Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, Matt Melvin, Dave McElfatrick) have released a much longer show that’s essentially a collection of animated sketches with some recurring themes throughout.
Historian James Holland goes inside the Nazi war machine, exploring the extraordinary weapons produced under the Third Reich, in a series that includes rare archive material
Shot in the format of a drama, it is the first documentary of its kind that explores a historical age in China more than 2,500 years ago. The documentary follows the heroic figures of the seven states Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin and retells the rise and fall of a nation through realistic depictions of the events from the demise of the Warring States Period until the unification under Qin rule.
In this four-part documentary series, leading Hollywood actors undertake a fascinating journey into their family's past by re-tracing the footsteps of their grandparents during World War Two. We follow the moving, personal stories of Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Carey Mulligan as they travel to historic locations, from the beaches of Dunkirk to prisoner of war camps in Asia, to learn about the war their grandparents experienced. All of the actors have unanswered questions about the scars war left on their grandparents, and in each episode one of the actors explore how six years changed the lives of their family and the world forever while learning about the life and death decisions that their grandparents faced.
"Talent" Chip Tsao went to London, Greenwich, Wales, Oxford, Cambridge, England, to analyze the British people's living habits, academic development, economic conditions, etc .; and went to Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow to know a country with a hundred years of blood and tears. Eason Chan visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Fukuoka in Japan to learn about the cultural differences; Social worker Shiu Ka-chun went deep into Finland's Turku, Helsinki, Nokia and other places to experience the local customs through living with locals. They will introduce the details of each famous city from a social, historical, and cultural perspective, bringing different connotations, depths, and education.
An anthology of four animated shorts: Global Astroliner Gou, Glass Eye, Kung-Fu Love, and Joe and Marilyn.
Traversing trippy worlds inside his universe simulator, Clancy the space caster explores existential questions about life, death and everything in between.
A close look at the engineers who designed powerful military technology for the Nazis and who also encouraged a technological revolution that would forever change warfare.
A non-verbal, classic style comedy, following the ups and downs of the much-loved chipmunk troublemakers living life in the big city.
A spectacular aerial journey across Egypt reveals how the River Nile was the key to the ancients' empire and why it is still important today.
James May embarks on a remarkable journey across Japan, from its icy north to its balmy south. He’ll see the sights, meet the locals, and eat the noodles in a bid to truly understand the Land of the Rising Sun.
The individual stories of previously convicted child offenders sentenced to mandatory life terms, without parole, who are now seeking resentencing on the heels of a recent United States Supreme Court ruling. While some may be resentenced to life, others could be immediately released or given a new sentence that makes them eligible for parole.