The Anime Research Group is an informal New York City-based organization that works to organize various cultural and educational events related Japanese animation. Its current major project is a series of anime film screenings held at Manhattan theaters. This year so far it has screened Magnetic Rose (one of the segments of 1995’s Memories anime anthology, with a script by Satoshi Kon), along with several other anime short films, and Gunbuster: The Movie, a condensed version of the classic 1998 Gunbuster series, directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Hideaki Anno.
Going forward, the Group’s plans are to incorporate into each screening a short introductory lecture that would contextualize the film or films within Japanese animation as a form of media/visual culture, highlight major themes, and raise questions for audiences to consider. If you are interested in participating in this project as a speaker, please contact Michelle Ceja at info@animeresearchgroup.com for more information. Speakers who are able to discuss science fiction in anime, the magical girl genre, and kawaii culture are particularly welcome. Some compensation may be available for your time.
[Editor’s note: Several years ago, Gorgeous Entertainment, an NYC-based theater/film/special events production company organized a similar series of screenings and lectures, under the label Anime Masterpieces. Venues that hosted Anime Masterpieces screenings and accompanying lectures included the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), the Fisher Center for the Study of Women and Men (Hobart and William Smith Colleges), and the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Japanese Studies.]