Hi!
Welcome to Animation Obsessive, a biweekly newsletter devoted to animation from around the world. We cover a little of everything — including the rare and underappreciated stuff you won’t find elsewhere.
Keeping up with animation is hard. There has never been more of it available — whether new or old, foreign or domestic, familiar or strange. Getting lost in all this abundance is easy, if you don’t have a guide.
That’s what we’re here for.
Twice a week, Animation Obsessive explores the highlights in animation from tent-pole premieres to unsung classics. We dig up the richest stories and most intriguing tidbits we can — drawing on international news, rare books, lost websites and more. It’s part investigation, part treasure hunt.
We believe in fostering a positive space in which to appreciate animation. Animation Obsessive doesn’t wade into industry rumors, gossip, drama or most controversies. But we aren’t apolitical — we’re committed to elevating marginalized voices, and to the cause of social equality. Our goal is to help you enjoy the world of animation in all its beauty and diversity.
Why become a member?
Paying subscribers (members) get total access to everything we publish. That means:
Complete access to all of our Sunday issues.
Exclusive access to our Thursday issues, where we cover animation stories more specialized or intricate than our Sunday format allows.
The full archive of our newsletter, dating back to February 2021.
Membership is for you if you want to see everything that animation has to offer — and help the world to do the same.
Only members make it possible to keep our newsletter going. Our research is expensive, both in time and money, because we break new ground.
In our free issues, we’ve published first-of-their-kind excursions into Hayao Miyazaki’s painting process and use of time and space. We’ve made a rare art book free to all and created an unofficial one for Coraline. That’s just the start.
Members make this work possible, and only members see some of the most exciting stuff we do here. In our paid issues, we’ve studied Jiří Trnka’s stop-motion masterpiece The Hand. We’ve looked into the making of Roujin Z for the first time in English. We’ve told the story of America’s global outsourcing machine. And so much more.
The cost of membership is $10 per month or $100 per year — with a deep discount for students and faculty with academic email addresses. (If that’s you, subscribe through this page to get 40% off.)
We’d love to have you with us as we continue to explore this thrilling, imaginative form of art. Thanks for reading!
“This is...monumental. Thank you for sharing your treasures and research!”
—Sherm Cohen, supervising director of SpongeBob SquarePants
“Great piece on this spectacular work.”
—Peter Ramsey, director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
“… this team delivers the best researched and best written animation essays that even a non-animation geek will find enlightening and inspiring.”
—Kyle T. Webster, artist and brushmaker
“I love this newsletter.”
—Bailey Richardson, Substack
“… it’s worth mentioning once more how well-documented, curious, and thought-provoking these newsletters are. I learn something new every time. Even on subjects I think I know pretty well.”
—Bob Flynn, director of art and animation at FableVision Studios
“This was a great read about one of my idols.”
—Ben Bocquelet, creator of The Amazing World of Gumball
“Animation Obsessive is the only animation-related thing I read on the regular cuz they have so much swag and good attitudes.”
—Jonni Peppers, director/animator (Barber Westchester)
“Absolutely indispensable, I set aside part of the weekend for this newsletter.”
—Sydney Padua, animator (The Iron Giant, Osmosis Jones) and Eisner nominee
“Great piece.”
—Jason DeMarco, co-creator of Toonami
“So fascinating.”
—Nicola Catena, animation designer (The Last Kids on Earth, My Little Pony: The Movie)
“… some of the most edifying, incisive and insightful contemporary writing on anime you’ll find on the web.”
—Toussaint Egan, Polygon
“… Animation Obsessive is doing something really special; in its depth, it more powerfully evokes a gloriously niche print magazine than any other newsletter I receive. If you’re interested in global animation — past, present and future — you really ought to be reading, and perhaps paying for a subscription, too.”
—Robin Sloan, author
“Wonderful resource.”
—Coleen Baik, animator and writer of The Line Between
“What a great read—calm, informative, even-handed, incredibly interesting.”
—Farran Nehme, film writer
“I’ve got to say I get the greatest of pleasures reading the Animation Obsessive newsletter. It’s always a gentle yet passionate and incredibly knowledgable moment of the month and makes me chase up loads of films I’ve never seen.”
—Jim Le Fevre, creator of the Phonotrope
“The @ani_obsessive newsletter might be one of the single best things to come from art Twitter. No joke. Those folks do a lot of research, and share the knowledge freely.”
—Nick Francis, creative director of Picture of a Fish
Inquiries and tips: animationobsessive@substack
