The latest film from Kyoto Animation veteran Yamada Naoko – known for K-On!, A Silent Voice, and Tamako Market – arrived in American theaters courtesy GKids this weekend, and both Sean and Jonathan made trips to the theater to check it out. Now working with Science SARU, Yamada’s voice is as singular as ever, and while The Colors Within returns to some familiar narrative territory for the director – high-school students forming a band – the way this story is told is singular. It’s an aggressively low-key, gentle narrative about quiet but profound emotions, and it builds to a musical climax that is an absolute knockout – one we couldn’t resist recording a podcast about.

Enjoy! And please look forward to Season 5 of Japanimation Station, our ‘Grand Tour’ of anime, which we are excited to announce will be premiering Sunday, March 16th, 2025!

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“Welcome to Japanimation Station” – Original Music by Thomas Lack, Lyrics by Thomas Lack and Sean Chapman, featuring Hatsune Miku; “ICE” – Original Music & Lyrics by Thomas Lack, featuring Hatsune Miku. https://www.thomaslack.com