Boogiepop Phantom: ... need I say anything?
Paranoia Agent: Love or hate anime, everyone has seen, no review for you guys
Grave Of The Fireflies: Arguable top 5 best anime movies ever. No review
Haibane Renmai: Some people dislike this anime, other adore it
Haibane Renmei is a tough series to peg down, even after seven episodes. That's hardly surprising, since it's from the mind of Yoshitoshi Abe, best known for the Lain series. There's a whimsical, down-to-earth feeling to the show which I liked and the characters are simple and realistic. Toward the end of the second volume, an event happens which greatly effects the cast and I ended up feeling their emotions--not an easy thing to do in any entertainment medium. They only reveal a little story every couple of episodes and I found the concepts they presented pretty interesting. I also found the interaction between the Haibane and the humans refreshing. There's some conflict between a couple Haibane groups but on the whole they all get along and the humans in the town accept them with open arms. It's nice to see compassion, acceptance and other decent human traits instead of the negative ones.
My only real concern is where the show is going. It's completely up in the air. As nice as the whimsical feeling to the show is (for me, others may find it tedious) they can't keep it up and expect to come to some sort of decent conclusion. Having been burned by anime endings (or non-endings, as the case may be) in the past, I can't help but feel a little nervous about what the latter half of the series will be like. However, my instincts tell me the project won't end up collapsing on itself.
Regardless of where the story goes, the show is wonderful to look at. While a few scenes go a little overboard with the digital look, causing some of the designs and animation to look flat and artificial, the majority of the art is lush and detailed. The character animation is quite serviceable and the backgrounds look wonderful- particularly since the show is shot in widescreen. Even better than the art is the music, which is orchestral and very nice sounding. It perfectly suits the scenes in question: whimsical, emotional, happy, etc. The lyric-less opening best showcases how wonderful Haibane Renmei's soundtrack is. I can only speak for the English acting, which was also serviceable. I liked the casting, particularly Reki, who I thought hit the role just about right from the start. Carrie Savage grows into the title role Rakka well after a few episodes, as do the rest of the actors. For the first few episodes the acting was kind of flat but the cast was up to the task during the above-mentioned emotional scenes in the second volume.
I'm definitely looking forward to taking the rest of Haibane Renmei's journey. I'm all for experimental stuff, be it in anime, independent films, TV shows or what have you. I've seen enough of them to know some turn out fantastic, but I've also seen enough to know they can be an exercise in frustration. I hope Haibane Renmei is part of the former category. From what I've seen it looks like it will be worth watching.
Ghost In The Shell/Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Question this... you deserve to be shot.
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind: Love...Love...Love...
Now And Then, Here And There: OMG I REMEMBER THE TITLE NOW... sorry I've been trying to remember the name of this piece of art... it's absolutely amazing... awesome... ><
Now and Then, Here and There is definitely the sleeper hit of 2002 in the United States. With Akitaroh Daichi at the helm as director for Japanese animation studio AIC, one would naturally think Now and Then would almost have to be some sort of lighthearted comedy romp. Afterall, Daichi's most famous past works include fan-favorites Child's Toy and Jubei-chan, while AIC is well known for recreating the same series over and over again with series such as Tenchi, El Hazard, and Dual. However, AIC has pulled a strong 180; Now and Then, Here and There is dark, serious and grim. Much in the same light of Green Legend Ran, except even more extreme.
Now and Then's utmost dark tone makes it a real oddball among the rest of the top tier titles which have come out recently. You won't find any Cowboy Bebop or Trigun comedy elements mixed in here. With the exception of occasional short yet optimistic speeches by Shu, Now and Then is serious and depressing. Brutal beatings, torture, twisted characters, feelings of hopelessness, rape, murder; it's all here. Episodes, more often than not, end in a negative light, which could leave viewers on a bit a sad note. While there will surely be fans of Now and Then who will hold the show in their most highest regard, it is not a happy-fun series.
Despite Now and Then being as mature and dark as it is, the series' main target audience seems to be much lower than one would normally expect. With its twisted characters and mass killings, Now and Then would seem as if it'd be adult only with no exceptions. Most often, series of this nature seem to feature hard-to-follow story lines and have very little to please the younger crowd. But that's definitely not the case here. It's like Future Boy Conan on acid; the plot is easy to follow, not too complex, and is much like an adventure story. The only difference is the characters constantly get the tar beat out of each other and there are rarely any happy moments.
Not having a complex plot does not necessarily mean that the plot is bad. In fact, Now and Then, Here and There's plot is very involving and will definitely hit home with a number of the sci-fi people out there. After main character Shu stumbles across a strange yet mysterious girl, he gets pulled from his carefree life and is thrown into a futuristic world where most of the Earth's population is dead. He's forced to live in a large mechanical structure of a town, where everybody is part of the military with kidnapped children making up the bulk of it. Not very many people like him, either. Shu's main goal is saving the girl he once came across and getting the hell out of where ever he is. Each episode continues his desperate adventure of trying to do so.
When you're not watching to embrace some weird political commentary and you don't want to just salivate over ninjas chopping each other up, likable and real characters are a must. They must be well developed and interesting or else the series becomes nothing but a waste. Thankfully, Now and Then, Here and There excels exceptionally well in this area as well. However screwed up they are, the main characters have real personalities and do grow a bit or get more extreme as the series moves on. They are each intriguing and are sure to keep the interested viewer absorbed throughout each episode.
As it must be mentioned, Now and Then, Here and There is very atmospheric as well. The camera occasionally pans across scenery and characters just enough to create a vibe for the show but never long enough to become annoying. Akitaroh Daichi did a very fine job despite normally working with comedy series. The soundtrack matches the mood and helps to absorb viewers as well. Occasional fight scenes are dramatic and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Now and Then is an all around very fine anime.
Comedy fans will definitely want to stay far away from this show but if you like your anime dark with a bit of adventure and a bit of style, Now and Then may be the title for you. It's one of the best newer shows I've seen in a while. Despite not having an overly complex plotline, it remains very involving. The exact target audience this show reaches to is a little hard to pinpoint but some people will certainly to love this one. Fans of Green Legend Ran must definitely check Now and Then out. Galaxy Express 999, Battle Angel, and 3x3 Eyes are somewhat similar shows as well. If you think you can handle it, go ahead and view it.
Full Metal Alchemist: heh... I didn't like it as much as others, no review.
Macross Plus: Classic
Akira: Doubt anyone questioned this
The Castle of Cagliostro:
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro is a marvelous film with enough whimsical action, playful adventure, and satisfying plot to appeal to viewers of almost any age, so long as they've got a little of that youthful rogue in spirit.
That said, there are three entirely different (and somewhat contradictory) lenses through which you can look at it: As a Miyazaki film; as part of the decades-long Lupin III franchise; or entirely on its own, as a standalone all-ages action-adventure. It's hard to argue that the film isn't memorable, but exactly how successful it is depends a great deal on what you're comparing it to. I happen to be fond of each of these categories of anime independently, so I'll go ahead and try looking at the movie through three different pairs of fan-glasses.
Castle of Cagliostro certainly has everything you could ask for in a Miyazaki film: Lush European scenery, fanciful action, a hint of pure-hearted romance, and a solidly-constructed plot that skips along at a brisk pace but also takes the time to slow down for an occasional touching moment. And, true to form, when he tugs at the heartstrings, he does it almost effortlessly--there are no orchestral swells or tearful close-ups, just small, heartfelt moments that stand on their own. If there's anything to complain about, it's the Miyazaki-stock characters: The Count is his consummate confident evildoer, and the naive--but still strong-willed--Clarise bears a remarkable physical resemblance to Clara (from Heidi, Girl of the Alps) among others.
In all, while the established conventions of the characters restrain Miyazaki a bit from the wonder of his fanciful-yet-earthy stories like Porco Rosso, or the intrinsic moral messages of some of his deeper films, his sense of action and lighthearted danger is loosed in full force to wonderful effect.
I find it somewhat ironic, then, that much of what makes the film a fine Miyazaki movie makes it rather out-of-place as a Lupin III film. It's almost at odds with itself, as if Miyazaki just couldn't bring himself to make a movie as randy as the character requires. Lupin III has, after all, built a reputation as good, somewhat dirty fun for kids at heart.
This is probably why, as a Lupin III film, The Castle of Cagliostro seems to be missing something. It certainly has the wild action, gadgets, and skin-of-the-teeth escapes that Lupin III fans know and love, but it's just a little too clean. Miyazaki's Lupin be a womanizer by reputation, but he's too much the dashing rogue--he just doesn't have the lust in his eyes, or that touch of smarmy greed in his heart. Fujiko, likewise, may be as competent as ever, but that sense of competition is missing. Plus, to put it as bluntly as I can, she's wearing too much; sexuality-as-a-tool has always been an integral part of her character, and it's nowhere to be found here. Jigen and particularly Goemon get left out of much of the plot, but that's not unusual.
That said, part of what's given the Lupin III franchise its staying power is that every animated interpretation of the characters is a little different, and every film has a different feel and focus. So long as you accept that this is a particularly clean and rather nostalgic Lupin III film, it's certainly not a bad one.
If I pretend I know nothing about Miyazaki or Lupin III (not difficult, as I first saw the Streamline dub of the film long before I had even heard of either), the analysis is much easier: A positively fantastic light-hearted adventure that grabs you with the opening scene and doesn't let go until the credits roll. The action is, perhaps, a tad "childish" for my taste--for all the swordplay and gunfire, there's barely a drop of blood, and it's not clear if any of the legions of henchmen are even seriously injured. There are, similarly, a couple of sight gags that didn't do anything for me. But that's a nitpick, and I was largely too busy cheering for the heroes to care.
The film also serves up a handful of surprisingly touching moments between the dashing rogue Lupin and the consummate innocent Clarise--a few quiet bits of largely unspoken nostalgia. Clarise, though not a very substantive character, is at least a damsel in distress who does her best to rescue herself.
The visual thrill is perhaps the best of it, though--gorgeous background art of stately castles, lush pastoral scenery, and a centerpiece action scene in and around a giant clock tower. The action may lack a hard edge, but the sense of relentless motion is truly impressive. Once an action scene gets underway--be it spectacular car chase, cat-burglary, or castle-spanning melee--there is never a moment to catch your breath, as one death-defying feat after another is strung together in a fluid dance. Acrophobics beware: Miyazaki's films are known for their sense of vertigo, and this one is no exception. There are several scenes involving rooftop sneaking and a famed showdown on the face of a clock that feature a dizzying sense of height.
The Japanese dialogue of course features the same colorful cast as dozens of other Lupin III films. They are all in top form, though Fujiko gets somewhat short-changed, not having a single scene to flex her sultry vocals. The three notable additions, the Count, his head henchman, and Clarise, are solid if unimpressive in the roles.
In my mind, the Japanese voices of Lupin, Zenigata, Fujiko, Jigen, and Goemon are simply too much a part of the characters for any dubbed version to work, however good it is, so I'll be generous and not say too much about the dub. Manga's cast is mostly solid--Jigen and the count are both good matches--but Lupin sounds too young and chipper to fit the part. Streamline's old dub, now hard to find, was decent as well. I have to say I slightly prefer Michael McConnohie's Count to Kirk Thornton, who voices him in the Manga dub.
Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro may not be the best Lupin III movie in the franchise, but it's the best known and with good reason--if you look past what it does with the established characters and take it as a standalone film, it is a wonderful, action-packed adventure with enough substance and characterization to appeal to both the young and the young at heart.
Jin-Roh:The Wolf Brigade: Classic
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Meh.... Disliked it compared to others in it's genre
Revolutionary Girl Utena: S Class anime... Just watch it
FLCL: Woot, In your face joe! IN YOUR FUCKINF FACE!!!!
Millenium Actress: Award winning piece of buttsekz
Millennium Actress is the long awaited second movie by Perfect Blue director Satoshi Kon (who also collaborated with Katsuhiro Otomo in Memories: Magnetic Rose) and the pedigree shows. Like Perfect Blue, Satoshi Kon takes us on a wild ride where he mixes reality with fantasy. Being a romance movie rather than a suspense thriller it's not as confusing as Perfect Blue, and is more reminiscent of Magnetic Rose where memories take hold of the narrative. We start seeing Chikyoko's life, traditionally enough, through her eyes. Then things get interesting as the modern day Chiyoko and her interviewers are dragged into the memory stream as well. And to make it even more fun, the story gets intertwined with the many roles that Chiyoko has played throughout her career, and the movie takes us through everything from samurai flicks to science fiction and even a giant monster movie!
Basically, we follow Chiyoko while she searches for the man she loves. The mysterious painter, hunted by the world war 2 era government, who gave her the equally mysterious key and a promise of reunion. The story takes us through Chiyoko's career and how her seemingly futile search shapes it. The storytelling can be a bit disjointed since Chiyoko and the others change roles as the story progresses. In one instance she can be the classic lovelorn romance heroine, chasing a train. Then she becomes a ninja princess out to rescue her lover. Jump to a lunar landscape as she prepares to launch one more effort to find her dream man. It can get a bit confusing at first, when you're not sure what to expect, but everything flows logically and you'll soon find yourself following the narrative without much trouble.
Unlike many romance anime, Millennium Actress' romance is very low key. While there are a few dramatic moments, the movie doesn't dwell on them. And just when you think the movie is getting a bit too serious, in comes Tachibana and his camera man with a little bit of humor, as Tachibana plays Chiyoko's brave saviour and the camera man plays the confused link to reality with a one liner here and there. No giant mecha, no villain threatening the galaxy, no ten thousand girls chasing after one hapless guy. Just a nice romantic drama with a very unique presentation. Quite a breath of fresh air in today's cliche-filled anime market.
The animation style is, as expected, quite similar to Prefect Blue, which is a great compliment in itself. But where the movie shines is in the artistic direction. Very unique scenes abound as we switch between eras, color schemes, and movies. A sequence that stood out for me was Chiyoko running towards the last place her lover was seen. The sequence becomes a montage of running scenes from her earlier life and movie roles, seamlessly blended into one. The music fits the chase motif perfectly with an upbeat score that goes into a mellow lull as the story dictates, mixing traditional Japanese music with techno elements as time progresses.
Although it won many awards (including Grand Prize Award winner of the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival) Millennium Actress didn't get nearly as much attention as it should, since DreamWorks (the US distributer) was too busy marketing Sinbad, which is a great shame since this is definitely one of the best anime movies to ever grace the silver screen.
Porco Rosso: Talk about an anime that go so little credit for it's greatness, watch please. I'll give this endless vouches
Hayao Miyazaki returns to the sky he last visited in his famous Laputa: Castle in the Sky in a rollicking adventure of pirates and romance in 1930s Europe. Porco Rosso is one of his lesser known and underrated works which has never seen video release outside of Japan but has appeared on TV on occasion. As usual, this is excellent work.
For starters, the technical details. The animation is very clean and detailed--Porco Rosso was an early nineties film and as a result the animation is superior to any other Miyazaki film save Princess Mononoke (obviously). The flight scenes exceed those of Laputa and the character designs are original and clean, although a few faces seem somewhat familiar (especially among the sky gangs). The scenery is very nice, especially the sunsets, and the settings look exactly like the period they're meant to.
On the sound mix side the voice acting is, as a whole, extremely good. None of the voices are irritating and there are several standouts, including Curtis, Gina and Marco himself. The music isn't the best ever to appear in a Miyazaki film but is still very good, fun and best of all, appropriate. Gina's singing especially is lovely.
Now we come to the story. Porco Rosso is an excellent mix of adventure, humour and romance which, although slow at times, keeps your attention for the entire length of the film. The characters are all fully fleshed out, as always, and Marco is a heck of a character. One of the surprising things I found about the film was that I could take Marco completely seriously as a character even though he is a man with the face of a pig. He is, in fact, a Character with a capital C, and is one of Miyazaki's most enduring creations, along with Totoro and Nausicaa. His past is intriguing but is not the centre of the film adds to the story rather than detracting from it. Watching the characters interact--Marco with Gina, Fio with Marco, Curtis with Gina--is the strength of the film and is really lovely. There are no good or bad guys, just the hero, his friends and his enemies.
The story as a whole may not seem too original when you step back and look at is as a whole, but is really a wonderful tale, with plenty of twists. The climax and ending, although not as powerful as those in Miyazaki's more fantastic films (such as Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke) is engaging and fun. The political aspects of the story are interesting, but like Marco's background, which it is tied with, does not take over the story as in some movies. The cinema scene is the most of it and is well crafted to give you the gist of what's going on without boring you.
There is plenty of humour in the film, mostly revolving around the Mama Aiuto sky gang but also about Marco and Piccolo's rebuilding of Marco's plane. The most obvious in-joke is when Piccolo installs a 'Ghibli' engine into Marco's plane. Watching a full team of Piccolo's female family working n the plane is highly amusing as it overturns Marco's semi-sexist attitudes about women in men's job. Surprisingly, the film features no "chauvinist pig" jokes. The flash lamp argument between the sky gangs before the attack on the liner is hilarious, as are the actions of the Mama Aiutos, especially their captain at the carnival preceding the fight. Watching Fio, a girl of seventeen, talk down an entire gang of pirates is worth your time on its own.
The end of the film is yet another interesting twist, and the final narrative makes for a very strange ending, but not necessarily a bad one. Overall, Porco Rosso is a wonderful film which will appeal to all. This film leaves me with two enduring images: the silent place above the clouds where the pilots go, and Marco, in the middle of the night, selecting his bullets by lamp light.