A Hardy Developer's Journal

Following our recent review of a disturbing horror production, I decided to write about a disturbing horror production of a different sort – a certain indie anime feature film.  I know what you’re thinking – anime films trying to shock the viewer with all sorts of nastiness and breaking all sorts of taboos are actually dime a dozen, but rarely offer anything interesting beyond having those ambitions. Midori aka Shoujo Tsubaki is different. For once, it was all written, drawn and animated in the course 5 years by a single man – a certain Hiroshi Harada, who was a recognized professional animator in the 70s and 80s, but grew disgruntled over the conservatism of the big studios and went solo once he was able to afford it. (more…)