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Interview

Ty Hanson p2

Ty Hanson mentions some of his favorite current anime series...

Anime is known for its dynamic and skilled art work. See millenniumexile.com for some of the amazing pictures of the settings of MillEx, including the Ryuuga Metropolis, Heaven’s Peak and a stunning forest on Ryner, a magical planet with strange creatures and secrets. And there are pictures of Vincent and the characters from GRAVE.
The project is going well. “Artwork still takes quite some time as I’m working with a low budget and that reflects on the turnaround time of the artists. The series is being funded by the public through donations,“ said Mr Hanson.
“All who have contributed to MillEx also have their names printed in the art book that I will be taking to studios for pitching.
“Funding amounts have been varied, as these are personal donations from fans who want to see Millennium Exile made. “
READERSVOICE.COM: You said in one interview that Gainax’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann was a big influence in that it showed you could have any story premise as long as the writing was good. What other animes are around that you’ve enjoyed lately?

TY HANSON: Other than TTGL and more recent huh?
Well, I’d be silly if I weren’t to mention three titles in particular that I had been quite taken by for different reasons.
My Hero Academia was a very big standout over the past few years for me, because it didn’t try to change the Shounen Battle Anime structure.
People have criticized it for not being overly ‘original’ in plot or powers, but I think that’s the point with a show like that.
Rather than introducing new ideas and different methods of story telling, MHA knew what it was and wrote to its strengths within that genre.
The characters were well fleshed out, they followed the Shounen Battle Anime story-telling structure flawlessly, and made sure it stayed true to what it was….rather than try to be ‘too much’ in other categories / genres.
The other two standouts for me in recent times have been Ancient Magus Bride and Made in Abyss.
Both of these shows delivered amazingly well-told stories: both of course existing within different genres, but both did such an amazing job at captivating the audience with the magical and seemingly endless worlds, and the characters that exist within them.

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– copyright Simon Sandall