from the latest "Midnight Eye" newsletter:

INTERVIEW: EIKO TANAKA
She is the mastermind behind the fastest rising name in Japanese animation: Studio 4ºC, makers of the mindboggling and masterful Mindgame.

FEATURE: READERS' POLL RESULTS
You, the Midnight Eye readers, have spoken. Your favourite Japanese film of 2005 is...

REVIEWS:

ANIMAL TREASURE ISLAND
The magical early anime from the Toei stables transposes Stevenson's classic pirate yarn to the realm of the antropomorphic. With a little help from a young Hayao Miyazaki.

URUSEI YATSURA: ONLY YOU
From the fertile mind of mangaka Rumiko Takahashi comes this wacky and colourful early effort by the now legendary Mamoru Oshii.

WICKED CITY
A refreshing reappraisal of one of the decidely adult titles that earned 'Japanimation' its notoriety in the immediate post-Akira days.

ROUND-UP: ANIME SPECIAL
A sampling of some of the many varied joys of Japanese animation, from Dragon Boys and Belladonnas to no-good Neighbours.

BOOK REVIEW: A HUNDRED YEARS OF JAPANESE FILM
Donald Richie's detailed overview of the full span of Japanese film history arrives in a revised and updated paperback edition.