Misha Mihailova
@mihailova.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, School of Cinema, San Francisco State University. PhD, Yale University. Co-president of the Society for Animation Studies. 🇧🇬 Research areas: animated media, AI, visual effects, video games. Latest: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/944430
Happy Circle Back Day to all who celebrate 🫠🫠
January 5, 2026 at 11:19 AM
Happy Circle Back Day to all who celebrate 🫠🫠
2025 anime recap.
Favorite shows:
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Zenshu
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Dandadan
- Gachiakuta
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- May I Ask for One Final Thing?
- Kaiju No.8
- MHA
- Sanda
- Spy x Family
- Wind Breaker
- Orb
- Yakuza Fiance
Favorite shows:
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Zenshu
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Dandadan
- Gachiakuta
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- May I Ask for One Final Thing?
- Kaiju No.8
- MHA
- Sanda
- Spy x Family
- Wind Breaker
- Orb
- Yakuza Fiance
December 31, 2025 at 9:20 AM
2025 anime recap.
Favorite shows:
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Zenshu
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Dandadan
- Gachiakuta
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- May I Ask for One Final Thing?
- Kaiju No.8
- MHA
- Sanda
- Spy x Family
- Wind Breaker
- Orb
- Yakuza Fiance
Favorite shows:
- The Summer Hikaru Died
- Zenshu
- The Apothecary Diaries
- Dandadan
- Gachiakuta
- The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity
- May I Ask for One Final Thing?
- Kaiju No.8
- MHA
- Sanda
- Spy x Family
- Wind Breaker
- Orb
- Yakuza Fiance
This year's Xmas Eve pick is SANDA, an absolutely delightful anime (by Science Saru!) about a middle schooler who turns into a buff Santa. It's set in future Japan, where seasons no longer exist, Xmas is just a myth, and declining birth rates give children higher social status than adults.
December 24, 2025 at 10:54 PM
This year's Xmas Eve pick is SANDA, an absolutely delightful anime (by Science Saru!) about a middle schooler who turns into a buff Santa. It's set in future Japan, where seasons no longer exist, Xmas is just a myth, and declining birth rates give children higher social status than adults.
Annual reminder that Satoshi Kon invented Christmas in 2003.
December 23, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Annual reminder that Satoshi Kon invented Christmas in 2003.
I know it's popular to hate on My Hero Academia for being "mid" but now that the anime has officially stopped airing, it needs to be said that Bakugo's growth over the series is one of the most compelling character arcs in contemporary shonen.
December 15, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I know it's popular to hate on My Hero Academia for being "mid" but now that the anime has officially stopped airing, it needs to be said that Bakugo's growth over the series is one of the most compelling character arcs in contemporary shonen.
Opened my Letterboxd to log BUGONIA like a good nerd and it gave me this. Fair play.
November 5, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Opened my Letterboxd to log BUGONIA like a good nerd and it gave me this. Fair play.
I wrote about queer rep in the shōnen anime Wind Breaker, particularly one character's role in reframing masculinity and subverting many of the toxic masculinity tropes typical of the genre.
Redefining Shōnen Masculinity through Queer Strength in Wind Breaker | In Media Res
mediacommons.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I wrote about queer rep in the shōnen anime Wind Breaker, particularly one character's role in reframing masculinity and subverting many of the toxic masculinity tropes typical of the genre.
Indie movie theaters which screen Perfect Blue around Halloween every other year but never show Tokyo Godfathers around Christmas need to get their shit together.
November 4, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Indie movie theaters which screen Perfect Blue around Halloween every other year but never show Tokyo Godfathers around Christmas need to get their shit together.
Glad to see reviews of this stunning book in the Anglophone press.
A Bulgarian Novelist Explores What Dies When Your Father Does
Writing about a son’s vigil at his dying father’s bedside, Georgi Gospodinov examines what parents and their children reap and sow.
www.newyorker.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Glad to see reviews of this stunning book in the Anglophone press.
The only creature that has genuinely terrified me this Halloweekend is the type of person who wakes up on November 1st and immediately puts up their Xmas decorations
November 2, 2025 at 5:51 AM
The only creature that has genuinely terrified me this Halloweekend is the type of person who wakes up on November 1st and immediately puts up their Xmas decorations
*Sitting in office hours when there is nobody here*: Nobody ever comes to office hours! I have to just sit here pointlessly for two hours! This sucks!
*Sitting in office hours and a student shows up*: First of all, who the fu--
*Sitting in office hours and a student shows up*: First of all, who the fu--
October 30, 2025 at 1:39 AM
*Sitting in office hours when there is nobody here*: Nobody ever comes to office hours! I have to just sit here pointlessly for two hours! This sucks!
*Sitting in office hours and a student shows up*: First of all, who the fu--
*Sitting in office hours and a student shows up*: First of all, who the fu--
Celebrating International Animation Day, and especially May I Ask for One Final Thing?, a new anime about a magical noblewoman who just really enjoys throwing hands
October 29, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Celebrating International Animation Day, and especially May I Ask for One Final Thing?, a new anime about a magical noblewoman who just really enjoys throwing hands
I'm finding it challenging to stan harder than I already do, but I'll put in the effort
Guillermo del Toro Says He’d ‘Rather Die’ Than Use Generative AI in His Films: ‘Not Interested’
Guillermo del Toro says he would 'rather die' than use generative AI in his films.
variety.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:58 PM
I'm finding it challenging to stan harder than I already do, but I'll put in the effort
Spotted at a BART station: this disgusting AI slop. If that's the level of quality control they maintain at Skechers, why should I trust them to make good shoes?
October 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Spotted at a BART station: this disgusting AI slop. If that's the level of quality control they maintain at Skechers, why should I trust them to make good shoes?
My fellow manga lovers in the Bay Area should check out the de Young's "Art of Manga" exhibition. If you teach comics/manga/anime, your students would enjoy it, too.
October 20, 2025 at 2:51 AM
My fellow manga lovers in the Bay Area should check out the de Young's "Art of Manga" exhibition. If you teach comics/manga/anime, your students would enjoy it, too.
When the usual suspects (Cameron, Zemeckis) started shilling AI, it felt inevitable and fully on brand. But this? This is just deeply disappointing.
Oscar-winning VFX legend Phil Tippett ('Star Wars,' 'Jurassic Park') mastered the blending of practical and digital effects when the latter technology was still new. At View Conference this week, he shared how his studio is now bringing AI into the mix.
www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/phil-tip...
www.cartoonbrew.com/vfx/phil-tip...
VFX Icon Phil Tippett On His Studio's Generative AI Use
At Italy’s VIEW Conference, Tippett Studio veterans explore how artificial intelligence could accelerate stop motion and VFX without losing the human touch.
www.cartoonbrew.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:56 AM
When the usual suspects (Cameron, Zemeckis) started shilling AI, it felt inevitable and fully on brand. But this? This is just deeply disappointing.
At some university reception today, another professor told me that she watched KPop Demon Hunters with her two children (aged six and nine) and kept pausing it to "make sure they understood that the lesson of this movie is radical self-acceptance." Anyway, academics shouldn't procreate.
October 8, 2025 at 6:11 AM
At some university reception today, another professor told me that she watched KPop Demon Hunters with her two children (aged six and nine) and kept pausing it to "make sure they understood that the lesson of this movie is radical self-acceptance." Anyway, academics shouldn't procreate.
Reposted by Misha Mihailova
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
October 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Brit Marling in conversation with Sherryl Vint at SFAM 2025. Guess I'll finally watch The OA now.
September 27, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Brit Marling in conversation with Sherryl Vint at SFAM 2025. Guess I'll finally watch The OA now.
Born to play Hades II, forced to attend an academic conference the weekend Hades II finally drops.
September 26, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Born to play Hades II, forced to attend an academic conference the weekend Hades II finally drops.
I'll be in LA Wed-Sunday of this week, taking part in this cool speculative fiction conference. I'll be doing double duty - panel talk on AI-generated media + roundtable on adapting Ted Chiang's “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” (ft. Chiang himself).
Speculative Fiction Across Media 2025 – Speculative Fiction Across Media
sfamla.org
September 22, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I'll be in LA Wed-Sunday of this week, taking part in this cool speculative fiction conference. I'll be doing double duty - panel talk on AI-generated media + roundtable on adapting Ted Chiang's “The Lifecycle of Software Objects” (ft. Chiang himself).
Entirely deserved! I've been skeptical about the strategy of turning this Demon Slayer arc into feature-length films rather than TV seasons but I stand corrected. Ufotable nailed this adaptation in every way that counts and then some.
‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ slashes 26-year box office record and tops weekend box office | CNN Business
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – the Movie Infinity Castle” shattered the record for biggest opening weekend domestic gross for an anime movie, hauling in an estimated $70 million.
www.cnn.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Entirely deserved! I've been skeptical about the strategy of turning this Demon Slayer arc into feature-length films rather than TV seasons but I stand corrected. Ufotable nailed this adaptation in every way that counts and then some.
This list is 🔥
HBO Max's anime library is getting a major boost under a new 20-title deal with GKIDS. Many will stream in the U.S. for the first time, with several debuting in 4K.
www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/hbo-ma...
www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/hbo-ma...
20 GKIDS Films Coming To HBO Max, Including U.S. Streaming Debuts
HBO Max signs deal for 20 GKIDS films, from anime milestones to long-lost cult hits, many debuting in 4K or streaming in the U.S.
www.cartoonbrew.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:24 AM
This list is 🔥
Academics: I recommend minor revisions.
The minor revisions they recommended:
The minor revisions they recommended:
a man is holding a box with sticky notes on it in front of a poster of japan
ALT: a man is holding a box with sticky notes on it in front of a poster of japan
media.tenor.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Academics: I recommend minor revisions.
The minor revisions they recommended:
The minor revisions they recommended:
Reposted by Misha Mihailova
We can't believe it's been a week since the end of #SAS36! It was such a great event. We also can't stop thinking about the animation @joanna-quinn.bsky.social made during her keynote. Here is a version she created just for us! Thanks, Joanna!
July 18, 2025 at 8:09 PM
We can't believe it's been a week since the end of #SAS36! It was such a great event. We also can't stop thinking about the animation @joanna-quinn.bsky.social made during her keynote. Here is a version she created just for us! Thanks, Joanna!