Category: Anime Reviews

Oh heck, Studio Ghibli did it again. With this, they created yet another must-watch for all ages. If you like family movies, it really is a must-watch.

Now, Ghibli makes two kinds of movies: epic adventure movies, and slice of life movies that often have fantasy adventure themes. Arrietty belongs to the latter, as it shows how a young boy meets a fantasy creature known as one of the borrowers: tiny people who borrow small stuff from humans in order to survive. That kind of set-up is common, but rather than “boy meets fantastical creature”, this movie makes it “fantastical creature meets boy”. Unlike the vast majority of these kinds of movies, we follow Arrietty, how she lives, where she lives, and what she does. And dear God, this movie is good at that.

This movie is meticulously detailed in order to make its setting come alive. Nearly the entire movie just takes place in one house in a small forest, but the creators put a ton of small ideas and detail into just about every scene. The amount of things that these borrowers create from the stuff that they borrow from the humans is immense, the movie is full of all kinds of different kinds of animals, ranging from bugs to mice and birds. It’s a lush movie that just sparkles with life wherever it goes.

Also: the animation. Let me say that out of all of the Ghibli movies not directed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, this one has the best visuals. The backgrounds in particular are just gorgeous, but what feels unique about the animation is how the creators succeeded in showing the difference between large and big. I mean, the main character is about ten centimetres high. When big things are around her, they really look BIG. Especially the way in which humans are animated next to her: that was done in such a way that I have never seen before.

There’s only one major weakness in this movie, and that is some forced conflict near the end of the movie. I’m not talking about the actual ending (which really was great), but the climax before that, in which this movie suddenly turns into one of those preachy environmentalist movies for ten minutes with a conflict and villain that just don’t fit the mood at all. It’s an act that feels like it doesn’t belong in the movie in terms of tone and themes, not to mention that the ‘villain’ is pretty pathetic.

The rest of the movie is environmental, but not at all preachy. Instead it focuses on the subtle tensions between coexisting species, not pointing a bad finger but rather letting everything resolve itself naturally. It’s got some wonderful characters to back this up with (again, the animation really brings these guys to life) with really good voice acting. Despite that one hiccup near the end, it’s a wonderful watch.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Down to earth, well paced and mature, with perhaps one forced bit near the end.
Characters:	8/10 – There may not be much interesting development, but the acting is excellent, and the characters really come to life. It’s got a bad villain, though.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Gorgeous artwork, detailed beyond belief, not to mention the wonderful soundtrack.
Setting:	9/10 – Immensely detailed in describing the life and environment of the main character. There are a ton of ideas in just about every scene.

Suggestions:
– Kiki’s Delivery Service
– Furusato, Japan
– Porco Rosso

Ah, Ascension: the new promising production company, spawned apparently from Sunrise. I originally thought that Kizuna Ichigeki from the Young Animator Training Project was their debut, but as it turns out their first work is the movie Colorful. After this, they stand out even more as a force to be reckoned with, because here they actually got themselves a number of good writers.

Colorful is a slice of life movie. This is a crowded genre at the moment, but it holds itself up very nicely. It’s perhaps not the best, but the character development is definitely worth it. It doesn’t follow the formula of “first half slice of life second half drama”, but instead it blends in both parts very nicely, taking the time to slowly show his character in his every day life, along with the problems he has and how he develops. The drama is good and quite genuine at times as well.

Kou Outani developed a solid soundtrack, and the animation is also simple, but detailed: not the best for a movie, but there is still quite a nice amount of movement. Characters move life-like, and the animation and voice actors succeed pretty well in portraying the characters throughout the movie. It does have a number of flaws that prevent it from being a great movie, though.

This movie was directed by the same guy who directed Kappa to Coo to Natsuyasumi, and pretty much suffers from the same problem in that it perhaps does not make the best use of its time. It’s the build-up that leaves things to be desired and feels incomplete at times, which prevents the drama from really reaching great heights.

Second of all, and this is a complaint that I’ve seen mentioned by some others already: the ending is… a bit of a downer ending. It’s not like it’s rushed or anything, and neither is it a plothole ending, but it’s the kind of ending that tries to shove its messages down the viewers throats, and they weren’t messages that I personally agree with. For the sake of spoilers I’ll only say that this movie does not use its premise well enough. Beyond that though, it’s a very solid movie that’s worth the watch if you’re into slice of life dramas.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Really well written dialogue, but misses something in terms of building up.
Characters:	9/10 – Excellent and life-like portrayal and development.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Nothing special for movie standards, but the animation remains impressively detailed. Especially the background art is consistently great.
Setting:	8/10 – Don’t watch this movie for its premise; watch it for its characters and how they fit into their daily lives.

Suggestions:
– Junkers Come Here
– Whisper of the Heart
– Kappa to Coo to Natsuyasumi

2011 is surprisingly short on sports series. Moshidora was pretty much the only new one we got here. But at the very least, it did come up with a really interesting premise: instead of being just another group of high schoolers, it focuses on a “what if?”-scenario: what if a high school girl got her hands on a business management guide and applied that to the management of a high school baseball team?

Throughout the series, we see a high school girl apply the basics of management to high school baseball, and succeeds at this pretty well. It takes a look at things as marketing, innovation, performance, and yet it also criticizes itself, and doesn’t take everything for granted. It’s quite an inspirational work, and the series also doesn’t forget to give some colours and development to the characters themselves. It’s a short series with only 10 episodes, but it makes optimal use of its time.

Now, this show was produced with a really small budget, though: the animation is simple and full of distorted faces. You really don’t want to watch this for the eye candy. But on the other hand, it’s not like this gets in the way of the storytelling. Instead, this series’ biggest flaw is its cheese. It really tries to pull at your heartstrings without restraint at times, but fails due to either insufficient build-up, acting, or questionable coincidences.

The baseball matches in this series also suffer from these coincidences: from start to finish, they feel completely directed and unnatural. It’s clear that the major focus of this show are management and its characters, and the baseball is just something that they happen to have as a common goal. It’s not the most believable at times, but definitely an interesting watch.

Storytelling:	7/10 – Makes good use of its time, but can’t control its own cheese.
Characters:	8/10 – They’re cheesy at times, but still remain surprisingly likable and developed for a 10-episode series.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Nothing special. Does what it needs to do to not get in the way of the other parts of the series, though.
Setting:	9/10 – An original idea surprisingly well fleshed out.

Suggestions:
– Cross Game
– Ookiku Furikabutte
– Touch

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door is a movie of the category “glorified episode”, and it’s an excellent example of how to do such a movie right. It’s got a strong villain, interesting story, a varied scenario, gorgeous animation, makes good use of its airtime and pretty much delivers on all that it attempts. It doesn’t really add anything to the Cowboy Bebop Universe, but it’s still an excellent watch.

The movie has great action, not to mention that all of the action scenes are completely different from each other. The creators had more than enough experience for this movie, and this this leads to a number of amazing action scenes that actually are animated even better than the TV-series was. Like the TV-series, this movie is fun one moment, and incredibly tense the next.

The main villain is completely new, but the movie does a good job of making him into a threat. Careful attention has been put into his background and motivation, and yet these are delivered with as little words as possible. The subtlety of the TV-series also returns with some really good results in this movie, and the acting is wonderful again as well.

Now, I would not label this movie amongst the best episodes of the TV-series, though. Those episodes were masterful in telling a short story in a very short amount of time (just one or two episodes), while this movie does feel a bit too long compared to them. Obviously this is comparing it against a very high standards. Again: it may not add anything to the main characters, it’s still a very fun movie to watch.

Storytelling:	9/10 – Subtle, yet very well told.
Characters:	8/10 – Good villain, great acting.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Gorgeous action scenes and life-like animation.
Setting:	8/10 – Not the most interesting backstory of the TV-series, but still quite interesting and detailed.

Suggestions:
– Trigun – Badlands Rumble
– Mobile Police Patlabor Movie 1
– xxxHolic Movie (Warning: the review I wrote about this one is terrible)

Ah, Rintaro. I’m quite aware that this guy has made some of the most notoriously bad movies in existence, and I refuse to review his bad stuff. But boy, when he is good, he really is amazing. I’ve rated three movies he directed with 90/100. Add that to the storyboard he wrote for the adaptation of the Diary of Anne Frank, and that makes four of his works that I consider to be absolutely fantastic and among my favourite movies ever. I LOVE this guy as a movie director. Now, Take the X Train is nowhere near his best work; it’s much more an experiment than a full fledged movie. But it’s definitely an interesting experiment.

It’s this weird 50-minute movie about a ghost train and some salaryman that is in some bizarre way connected to it, but it isn’t about the story at all, really. Instead, Take the X Train is all about its atmosphere, and in this way it stands out as something unique. It’s really bizarre at times, especially considering that it’s also an homage to Jazz music, but the direction makes this short look utterly gorgeous. The animation isn’t as consistent as some of Rintarou’s other works, but the visual images still can get quite amazing.

It’s quite an experience, and again I don’t think that there’s anything like this. This just tells nearly its entire story about a ghost train with this unique style, animation and weird characters. It’s hard to find, but worth the watch if you’re into something artsy.

Storytelling:	8/10 – The atmosphere has this undeniable charm to it. It’s really hard to describe.
Characters:	7/10 – completely one-dimensional, but likable.
Production-Values:	9/10 – Lots of creativity has gone into these visuals. This show is ugly, yet somehow looks great.
Setting:	8/10 – It’s a simple, but unique movie, definitely.

Suggestions:
– Memories

Urusei Yatsura was the first series that Mamoru Oshii fully directed, having previously worked on episodes of Yatterman and Nils no Fushigi no Tabi. Now, it has 195 episodes, so I refuse to actually go sit down and watch it, but I always wanted to check out the first two movies of the series, which he also directed.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past even twenty minutes of the first movie due to its incredibly cliched premise. I know that it was fresh at the time and all, but that single movie has been ripped off so many times by now that it has become a chore to watch. Not to mention that it has one of the worst male leads imaginable. The second movie though, is a different story. It’s probably the first point at which Mamoru Oshii first showed his unique style of directing that would later go on and create many classics.

You can pretty much watch it without having seen anything of the franchise before. I mean, the premise is just that an alien falls in love with a loser of a playboy, and the side-characters also all speak for themselves. This movie still pretty much features the main cast goofing off, but it actually has a very interesting plot.

My biggest praise at this movie is how balanced it is: there is just enough time devoted to people goofing off, there is quite a bit of attention to the setting and ideas behind the movie, there is the right amount of philosophy, romantic antics, action and weirdness. A lot of different characters all have their moments in the spotlights and yet it still feels like a complete movie.

On top of that, the animation is also pretty excellent; this movie especially shines in its portrayal of the chaotic scenes, whether this is focused on school life or some of the weirder plot twists in the story. The characters here all like to goof off, but yet they are portrayed with the kind of life that a lot of modern anime are missing. Instead of the excessive whining that you usually see in these teenaged school series, these people actually feel fun to be around. This movie is versatile enough to not make them boring, and the first Urusei Yatsura movie just showed how easy it is to just screw up with that.

Storytelling:	9/10 – Well written dialogue, well paced, really well balanced. A lot of fun to watch and pretty much succeeds at everything it attempts.
Characters:	8/10 – the characters still remain simple teenaged brats, but they are fun and interesting to watch thanks to the pacing and dialogue.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Very good animation, though admittedly not the best for movie standards.
Setting:	8/10 – An interesting premise based on bending reality.

Suggestions:
– Mahou Tsukai Tai OVA
– Maison Ikkoku
– Ranma 1/2

If you thought that the 2004 series of Tetsujin 28-Go was obscure: meet the movie. Seriously, I could hardly find anything about it online. The only working version I found was a random raw somewhere on Megaupload. With so little attention on it, you might think that this is just another one of those recap movies. And actually, it isn’t.

This movie is standalone from the series, but I would recommend having seen the series before it. It builds further upon its themes, characters and setting. It really serves as an excellent complementary to the series, while having a good story for itself as well. Again, we see here focus on the 1960s. While most anime set in that era are focused on looking towards the future, Tetsujin 28-Go looks back. In fact, this movie is all about the fear of another atom bomb, and about the huge effects that the second world war had on the people of Japan. The TV-series already had this, but it really turned into the core theme of the movie. This relates back to the original Tetsujin 28-Go (pretty much the first giant robot series ever), which also was created with the earth shattering devastation of these weapons of mass destruction in mind.

This movie is 90 minutes long, but what surprised me the most is that it had relatively little action, especially compared to the TV-series. The action is only focused on a select number of key climaxes, with the rest of the movie being build-up and character-building. It took a bit to get used to, but it works surprisingly well. This movie also introduces one particular new character and it makes sure that he really makes his own impact on both the story and the characters. And yes, this remains a Yasuhiro Imagawa anime. The ending really is an excellent one that wonderfully uses its own build-up. It has nice action, but the real meat actually lies in the dialogue here.

Having said that though, this movie does get quite a bit far-fetched at times. Especially Tetsurou’s father did things that just… make you wonder about his sanity, but there also are other plot twists in this movie that perhaps took a few too many creative liberties. They’re used well, but seeing a things as an enormous robot with bombs as back-hairs gets a bit… hard to buy at times.

Storytelling:	8/10 – A bit long on the build-up, but comes together wonderfully when it counts. Excellent dialogue as well, though a bit far-fetched at times.
Characters:	8/10 – One particular character has suddenly gotten really annoying, but the rest of the cast is still very likable, plus the now characters are excellent.
Production-Values:	8/10 – The creators couldn’t get themselves a movie budget here. Pretty much looks the same as the TV-series.
Setting:	9/10 – Makes terrific use of its legacy, being based on the first mecha show ever made.

Suggestions:
– Giant Robo
– Rainbow
– The Big O

My first experience with Matsumoto Leiji’s typical character-designs… was actually from a Daft Punk music video (One More Time!). I watched it before even discovering anime online, so finally sitting down and watch the entire movie of Interstella 5555 was a definite nostalgia trip.

There have been anime music videos, but I don’t think that it has ever been done as ambitiously as with Interstella 5555: it’s basically just one giant music video. There is no dialogue and the entire story gets told through both the animation and the music, both of which are excellent. Daft Punk’s style of trance works really well with this kind of media, and the graphics are full of neat designs, ideas and details in order to provide plenty of eye candy for an entire hour. It’s definitely a unique watching experience.

One of my fears was that, since this entire movie is based on one of Daft Punk’s albums, that it would be too much of a self-promotion of the band. It could have gone much worse, though. The people from Daft Punk only make an appearance as a cameo in one scene and do not feel like they’re stroking their own egos. The one problem that this movie does suffer from is that you can clearly see the borders between the different songs. Every song on the album pretty much got its own music video, and the transition between one song to the other is a bit stiff. On the other hand, that does make each song stand out and make it distinct, rather than just being a rehash over and over.

With no dialogue you obviously can’t get really that complex of a story nor characters. And indeed, those are not the main focus of this movie. The story mainly exists in order to make all of the music videos different yet coherent, while the characters… are just there. Instead I just want to praise the way in which the creators delivered this story, and how they used these simple ingredients to make something really enjoyable here.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Great delivery and a very enjoyable and unique ride.
Characters:	7/10 – Enjoyable, but very one-dimensional. No dialogue is great, but it comes with its sacrifices.
Production-Values:	9/10 – A great multimedia project. The music and visuals really bring this one to life.
Setting:	8/10 – It screams Matsumoto Leiji, and it definitely has a cool albeit sometimes cliched, universe.

Suggestions:
– Amazing Nuts (yes, there really is an anime out there called “Amazing Nuts”. Don’t ask).
– El Cazador de la Bruja
– Mr Stain on Junk Alley

Ever feel like you’re in the need of a really big hug? You need something warm and charming to watch? Meet The Star of Cottonland. This movie is beyond cute.

The creators of this movie set themselves the task to make its lead character as adorable as possible and they succeeded pretty well, actually. It’s a unique little movie about a small kitten in a world where cats are drawn as people. Ranging from her subtle movements, innocent inner monologues, subtle development and her non-verbal communication: everything that the lead character does is chock full of charms. This is a movie that was made by people who really like cats, there is no doubt about it.

Beyond that though, this movie also shines because it has quite a creative storyline. There are none of the usual cliches or tropes, and the ones that are there are averted throughout the movie. It has some bittersweet elements, but it’s never cheesy. In fact, the reason why these bittersweet elements work so well is because of how subtly they’re delivered, excellently combining the lead characters’ charm. Technically, this is a movie about self-discovery, but it chose a pretty original way to play out. It leaves a lot of stuff successfully up to the viewers’ imaginations and it also know exactly how much it should wrap up in order to feel complete.

Now, there are a few flaws here and there among the side characters, some are just one-dimensional and others have rather forced motivation. The weirdest is one particular woman with an allergy of cats, though. For some strange reason, the creators of this movie seem to confuse cat allergy with cat phobia. This woman never sneezes or gets any itches, but instead acts completely neurotic whenever a cat is in her vicinity.

In any case, a Star of Cottonland is a well made movie. It’s quite well animated especially around the lead character. It’s entire cast does an excellent job of growig on you as the movie goes on, and it’s a very nice watch for anyone who is looking for something really cute for 90 minutes.

Storytelling:	8/10 – Well restrained, yet makes the story evolve really well.
Characters:	9/10 – Absolutely adorable lead character; the creators did an amazing job of bringing a young kitten to life. Side characters have a few problems here and there.
Production-Values:	8/10 – Life-like animation for the lead character.
Setting:	8/10 – The way in which this series treats cats is a really nice idea.

Suggestions:
– Chi’s Sweet Home
– Junkers Come Here
– Kero Kero Chime