Now, when it comes to ensemble drama, the first thing that springs to mind is that masterpiece of the Hashimoto–Kurosawa pairing, “Seven Samurai.” The individuality of all seven was drawn without a scrap left over. A human quality unlike anything fabricated, the kind you might find anywhere in the real world, comes pouring out of it. Reality was the window through which empathy entered. There Were Two Miyamoto Musashis in “Seven Samurai” ...
Added 14 September 2026: Errors in several personal names have been corrected — Keisuke Fujikawa, Eiichi Yamamoto, Toshio Masuda, Shogo Hirata, Nobuhiro Okaseko, and Masanori Ito and Yasuo Shibue of the founding members of Soeisha (Sunrise) — following a correction kindly sent in by a reader, Kitajima. With thanks. Almost all anime, from the start, has something you could call a story. But speaking from the position of a man who makes his living by anime: story matters, yes, and yet what matters as much or more is the thing only animation can express — what we call animation artistry. There is a way of thinking that says the finest thing of all would be high animation artistry with a story still visible inside it. It is Mr. Hashimoto’s theme, then story, then character, read backwards. ...