In 2023, we were approached with an opportunity to purchase as much of a significant private collection as they wanted before it was disbanded. After sifting through tens of thousands of titles, we identified approximately 11,700 that they wanted to obtain – ~2,000 would be upgrades to titles existing in its collection and the remainder would be new additions. With the assistance of a generous supporter, we were able to make this dream a reality!
With so many titles, we need to gradually introduce them into the catalog. This newest batch fills in some long-awaited holes in our Anime and Manga section! Thanks to Youtuber and anime expert hazel, who very graciously also ran a fundraiser for Scarecrow to help us check off some Anime boxes, we've also got a few choice recommednations from this new batch of amazing titles.
Aim for the Ace (1973 series and 1979 movie): adapted from a manga featured in legendary girls’ magazine Margaret and directed by anime god Osamu Dezaki, who was on an unassailable run of shoujo manga adaptations through the 70s. His style is on full display here, and meshes beautifully with the hysteric melodrama of its source material. It's no wonder the series is regarded as one of 70's anime's greatest accomplishments.
Chie the Brat (1981): Studio Ghibli's Isao Takahata takes the reins on manga adaptation Chie the Brat for studio TMS, a slice of life series starring a brash, but reliable and hardworking 11 year old girl named Chie. In a sense, the show serves as a symbolic grandmother for later works in the "bless this mess" canon like Chibi Maruko-chan and Crayon Shin-chan--lighthearted stories of dysfunctional families told from a child's perspective.
Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters (2006): Anime spotlight regular Mamoru Oshii's lesser known live action film career is at times more formally playful and experimental (and at times, frankly, incomprehensible) than his anime. Few illustrate this better than Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters, a title whose visual style and humor, equally bizarre, are closer to Terry Gilliam than Osh: ii's own Angel's Egg or Patlabor.
