CATDOLL: Review of the major events in Japanese anime in 2016: Welcoming the new year in the midst of turmoil

It’s the end of the year, what major events have happened in the Japanese anime industry this year? Let’s go back in time and take a look at the many ups and downs that Japanese anime has experienced in 2016.

In general, 2016 was a year of "old work renovation" becoming increasingly popular. Many childhood classics were serialized into new chapters or adapted into live-action movies, and various money-making peripherals were launched to entice everyone's wallets. The sentimental trend swept the industry. In addition, "Your Name." directed by Makoto Shinkai was undoubtedly the most watched object this year. This work not only won a great victory at the box office, but also evolved into a topic phenomenon worldwide, with a far-reaching influence.

With happiness comes sadness. In 2016, many seniors passed away due to illness, which was a huge loss to the industry. The most impressive one was Mr. Koji Wada, the theme song singer of the "Digimon" series. In April this year, he passed away due to ineffective treatment of throat cancer... Let's review them one by one.

January 2016: The "Year of Sanji" in One Piece begins

As early as 2015, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda revealed that 2016 would be the "Year of Sanji" with Sanji as the protagonist. From the comics at the beginning of the year, Sanji has experienced being kidnapped and forced to marry, his true identity revealed (the third son of the Vinsmoke family), meeting family members, encountering his fiancée Pudding, beating Luffy who came to rescue him, and now witnessing Pudding's dark turn and feeling sad.

Rather than calling it the "Year of Sanji", it is more like the "Year of Abuse of Sanji". Looking back at the comics, we can find that although the plots of this year are centered on Sanji, he is always in a position of being teased. Sanji's father Judge made the decision to marry Pudding, the daughter of the Four Emperors Charlotte Linlin, for political marriage. In order to protect Zeff and his partners at the Sea Restaurant from being implicated, Sanji had to endure humiliation and give up his entire life.

Sanji acted like an indifferent "movie star" to Luffy who came all the way to Cake Island. After beating up the captain, he sat in the car and shed tears. He finally adjusted his mood and decided to protect Pudding from now on, but he accidentally saw Pudding's terrible blackened appearance and was mocked by Pudding in every way. I wonder if Sanji can rewrite his own destiny in 2017...

March 2016: Yoshihiro Togashi's "Hunter x Hunter" resumes serialization

The "Weekly Shonen Jump" released on March 19th revealed the news that "Hunter x Hunter" will resume serialization, which is also the return of Togashi Yoshihiro after a long absence. On April 18th, the magazine containing the new comics was released, and the plot continued the content of the "Dark Continent Chapter".

However, the good times didn’t last long. When the new manga was only serialized for about 10 chapters, Togashi once again revealed that he would stop publishing and said that the “resumption time is undecided”. To this day, the progress of the manga of Hunter is still at 360 chapters. I wonder when Togashi will return?

March 2016: "Love Live!" μ's held their last concert

March 31 and April 1 of this year may seem ordinary, but they are probably the saddest days for the audience who like μ's group in "Love Live!" - during these two days, the "μ's Final Love Live!" concert was held at Tokyo Dome, which also officially brought an end to this super popular idol group.

From this day on, μ's gradually faded out of everyone's career, but this does not mean that the members will disband. Perhaps in the future, we will be lucky enough to see the μ's group performing on the same stage with the rising star "water group" Aqours.

April 2016: Digimon series theme song singer Wada Koji dies

"Digimon" accompanied many viewers through their childhood, and the theme song "Butter-fly" in the series is deeply rooted in people's hearts. However, it is regrettable that Mr. Koji Wada, who sang many theme songs for the "Digimon" series, died of illness on April 3 at the age of 42.

In 2006, Koji Wada, who suffered from throat cancer, overcame the disease and started singing again, and presented a new song for the recent theatrical version of "Digimon Adventure tri." Just when everyone thought that Mr. Wada had escaped danger, the bad news suddenly came. From then on, the familiar phrase "Infinite dreams, what world is there?" could no longer be heard in the world of "Digimon."

In addition, Takenouchi Sora's voice actor Mizutani Yuko, "Listen to Dad" light novel author Matsu Tomohiro, "Attack on Titan" animation supervisor Sugisaki Yuka, "Detective Conan" screenwriter Furuuchi Kazunari, "Doraemon" Suneo's voice actor Kanata, and "Mashin Hero Tadashi" animation chief supervisor Inuchi Hideji also passed away this year, causing a huge loss to the industry.

April 2016: Detective Conan 20th movie released

The 20th movie of Detective Conan, "Pure Black Nightmare", was officially released on April 16 and will be released in major theaters in mainland China a few months later. Unlike the plots in recent years, this time the Conan movie once again brings the Black Organization into the plot. Akai Shuichi of the FBI, Toru Amuro of the Public Security Bureau, and "Silver Bullet" Conan Edogawa work together to successfully stop the conspiracy of the Black Organization.

After the release of the BD version of the movie in October, the official announced the synopsis of the 21st movie to be released next year. The new movie "Crimson Love Letter" will focus on the love story between Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha, and Heiji's fiancée "Ooka Momiji" officially debuts, and the development of the Shura field is full of expectations.

May 2016: Cardcaptor Sakura will have a new animation, expected to air in 2018

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the serialization of the manga "Cardcaptor Sakura". To commemorate the occasion, the original author CLAMPS has opened a new chapter of the manga serialization "CLEAR CARD", and has allowed Sakura Kinomoto, who was originally an elementary school student, to enter junior high school.

What is even more exciting is that in May, the official announcement was made that the "CLEAR CARD" chapter will be made into an animation and will start broadcasting in 2018. The voice actor lineup continues the original composition, and I believe it will definitely bring everyone strong childhood memories.

June 2016: Full Metal Panic announces new anime

When it comes to "ancient giant pits", many anime fans will think of the new works of the "Suzumiya Haruhi" series, the end of "Detective Conan", and the update of "Hunter x Hunter" mentioned above. In addition, the fourth season of "Full Metal Panic" is also eagerly awaited by many viewers. In June this year, the original author of "Full Metal Panic", Gatou Shouji, said that he was "working hard on the animation script", officially announcing the arrival of the new animation.

In October, the satellite finally landed. According to the official announcement of Full Metal Panic, the fourth season of the animation will be broadcast in October 2017, and the production company has also changed from Kyoto Animation to XEBEC. It seems that the big hole of Full Metal Panic has been filled. I wonder when other works will pick up?

June 2016: When a Girl Meets a Bear animation ends with a big death

As a work with a daily healing style, "When a Girl Meets a Bear" was fresh and natural in the early stage, and it was funny. It quickly became a dark horse in the lineup of new animations in April. However, when the animation was about to end, the production team made a suicidal move - ignoring the plot of the original manga and forcibly changing the ending of the animation, causing the heroine Komachi's personality to change drastically, and she became the object of being played badly.

After the final episode of the animation was aired, it caused an uproar among the audience. The screenwriter, knowing that things were not going well, quickly deleted his Twitter and disappeared completely, further arousing everyone's anger. Although the official intentionally changed the ending of the TV version in the later released animation BD, the audience still did not buy it, causing the sales to plummet. This lesson also served as a warning to other animation production teams.

Ironically, Amazon recently adjusted the price of the "When a Girl Meets a Bear" BD. The BD that was originally priced at tens of thousands of yen is now only sold for a few thousand yen, which triggered a buying frenzy. In a short period of time, sales jumped to the top of the list... It's quite a bit of black humor.

July 2016: The manga series "Bleach" and "Nisekoi" are finished

In July this year, the popular manga "Bleach" and "Nisekoi" announced their final chapters. However, judging by the hasty ending, "Bleach" seems to have been cut short. The protagonist Ichito's son suddenly appeared, leaving readers completely confused, and Rukia's daughter has grown up. It seems that "Bleach" is going to follow in the footsteps of "Naruto".

In "Nisekoi", Raku Ichijo finally made his final choice, he officially confessed his love to Chitoge, and the two got married. Like "Bleach" and "Naruto", the author of "Nisekoi", Naoshi Komi, seems to be very interested in the plot of "second generation love". Judging from the black and white pictures he drew, the next work seems to revolve around Raku Ichijo's son and Onodera's daughter.

August 2016: Makoto Shinkai's "Your Name." creates miracles

On August 26, the animated film "Your Name." directed by Makoto Shinkai began to be released in Japan, and received rave reviews and box office, creating a new miracle in the history of Japanese animated films.

"Your Name." continues the consistent style of Makoto Shinkai's works, with fresh and healing images, touching plots, and rich performances by voice actors that touch the heart, making this work instantly become a hot topic in the second half of the year. On December 2, "Your Name." was introduced to the Chinese mainland, breaking recent box office records in a short period of time and forming a new wave among the audience.

September 2016: After 40 years of serialization, the series "Ulong Police Station" was announced to be completed

The manga "Uron Police Station" has been serialized since 1976, and this year marks its 40th anniversary. In September, the original author Akimoto Osamu announced that he would end the serialization of "Uron Police Station", bringing an end to this manga, which is known as the longest serialized manga in the Guinness World Records.

As a celebration of the completion of the manga "Ulong Police Station", many JUMP cartoonists used various forms to bid farewell to this "veteran" in their works. Under the pens of various authors, the protagonist Ryotsu Kankina's iconic thick eyebrows appeared in various works, and the pictures were very funny.

October 2016: Chinese subtitle group members arrested again in Japan

In recent years, the arrests of Chinese subtitle group members in Japan have become common. In October, two subtitle group members who illegally uploaded animations were arrested in Japan. According to police charges, the two were suspected of illegally uploading the animation content of "Genius Mahjong Girls" two years ago, which infringed the rights of the producer.

From the arrest of the source of the early "One Piece" pictures to the arrest of the source of the new anime, it can be seen that Japan is increasingly cracking down on illegal audio-visual. For the subtitle group members in Japan, the current situation is not optimistic.