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Hakaba Kitarou Review – 88/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Hakaba Kitarou


The original Hakaba Kitarou (later renamed to Gegege no Kitarou) was one of the original pioneers in anime and manga, even before the legacy of Osamu Tezuka. Ever since it was serialized in 1959, it’s spawned five lengthy television-series, eight movies and one live-action movie. The problem is that all of these reduced the Kitarou-franchise to a kiddie-series. Enter Hakaba Kitarou, in its Noitamina time-slot as it attempts to remove all of the “kiddie”-roots from the franchise. And believe it or not, but it succeeds pretty well.

The result is a very rare combination between horror and comedy. But this series mostly stands out because it’s so refreshingly different from usual anime. The art really tries to go its own way, with character-designs in an original style, and a continuous filter, reminiscent of Mononoke. There are lots of interesting camera-angles and monster-designs, which make sure that this series turns into a visual feast that doesn’t rely on moe whatsoever.

This is also one series that completely shatters the boundaries between good and evil. It may seem like that Kitarou is the main character, and therefore the good guy, and yet he likes to play cat-and-mouse games with his victims, and he doesn’t even seem to care whether these victims end up dead or not. Nezumi Otoko, on the other hand, may be the series’ villain (he acts mostly out of greed and for money), and yet he stands so far away from the stereotypical anime villain. This guy is often rational and he doesn’t try to look as cool or evil as possible. He’s also often friendly, although he’s ready to betray any friend in favour of his well-being.

The same goes for all other side-characters that appear in one the different stories that have been put into the eleven episodes that this series consists of. Everyone is somewhere in the grey spectrum between good and evil. And all of the major side-characters have multiple sides and hardly have any chance to get boring. I’d also like to mention the ease at which this series seems to be able to kill off its characters. Seriously, some deaths really come from nowhere.

And that brings me to another good point of this series. Not every episode may have one, but the plot-twists will leave you guessing, and some will come as a huge shock, exactly what a horror-series should be. You can see that the writers have a lot of fun while writing this series, and building it up. Hakaba Kitarou has a delightful air of unpredictability that you hardly ever see in anime.

Overall, if you’re looking for something different, then Hakaba Kitarou is the way to go. Don’t get fooled into thinking that this is a series for kids. Simplistic character-designs don’t automatically make a series a kiddie-one. At eleven episodes, there’s hardly any chance to get bored. This is one reason why I like winter-seasons. Because not many popular series air, it’s the perfect chance for the less popular and under-looked anime that try to be different to get a chance. 2007 had Master of Epic, and 2008 continues this tradition with Hakaba Kitarou.

Mokke Review – 89/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Even though the season hasn’t officially ended yet, I’m pretty sure about my top-3 series of the Autumn-season. First place is obviously for Shion no Ou, Ghost Hound comes in second, and Mokke takes up the third spot. In a generally underwhelming season, these three series stood far above the others, and manage to deliver constant quality.

Mokke has had it quite tough in terms of popularity, though. Even before it aired, people were comparing it to the next Mushishi. Expectations it obviously couldn’t fulfil. True, at first sight Mokke and Mushishi seem alike. They’re both slice-of-life stories about supernatural spirits, but that’s where the similarities end. In Mushishi, the mushi had no personality whatsoever, while in Mokke, each spirit talks just like a human would. Mushishi featured a grown up and experienced adult as its main character, while Mokke worked with two young and naive sisters. And the most important difference: Mushishi was about its stories, while Mokke is about its characters.

And that’s where people are mostly turned off by. The stories for Mokke are quite simple and not very complicated. They just serve to support the characters. Each episode features some kind of spirit that comes into contact with either the two main characters, or somebody that they know. It may seems like the “monster of the week”, but thankfully the creators have enough inspiration to make every episode different.

And really, the characters shine. They’re all well-defined and subtly developed, and especially Mizuki and Shizuru bring this anime to life. Through the 24 episodes of this series, you’ll learn their hobbies, their fears, what makes them uneasy, and how they try to deal with the fact that one of them can see spirits, while the other gets easily possessed by them.

Do note that the character-designs don’t try to be as pretty as possible. Mizuki and Shizuru are in this way really portrayed as normal girls, but if you’re one of these persons who loses interest if you don’t see a sexy bishoujo drawn to please otaku for forty-five seconds, then you may stay away from this. I also acknowledge that at times, this series tends to be a bit too dramatic for its own good. And yet, this was always a series where I knew that I would end up in a relaxed state after watching, no matter what happened during an episode. Add that to the fact that I ended up crying for the characters more than once, the music is simple, yet effective, the final episode ended up being the best of the entire series, leaving no bad taste whatsoever and the OP and ED both feature excellent songs, and I see enough reasons to put this on my list of top-series of the season.

Some quick first impressions: Mnemosyne – Musume-tachi, Mai Otome S.ifr and Bus Gamer

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Mnemosyne Musume-Tachi

Mnemosyne’s strategy is basically to attempt to capture its audience with lots of gore and nudity. Like I said before, I haven’t bought the formula yet. The characters do have potential, but it seems to me that they’re trying a bit too hard to be sympathetic, so early on. Especially the case for the first episode was a bit too extreme, and to me it seemed that it was more keen on to shock its viewer than to come up with a cohesive story. Who knows, this is one series that can go both ways: it can get lost in its endless fanservice, or it can turn out to be quite an interesting character-study. One thing that I do want to say is that the OP is pretty amazing. Especially the track that the creators found for it.

Mai Otome S.ifr.

Well, at least this one looks to actually contribute to the Mai Otome-universe, rather than the abomination of Mai Otome Zwei. Still, the new characters are just as annoying as all the other series. Thankfully, the main character is less annoying than Arika was, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t get on my nerves every time she appears. Overall, I doubt that something good can come out of this OVA, but at least it seems to be trying. It’s going to have to try really hard to fit in all the development for the huge load of new characters, though. Hardly anything was explained in this episode (heck, we still don’t know why Sifr was kidnapped in the first place), and it’s going to take a lot of time for just three episodes to explain everything.

Bus Gamer

Well, this didn’t turn out as interesting as I hoped. Bus (as in BUSiness, not an actual bus) Gamer obviously didn’t receive that big of a budget to work with. The crows that appear once in a while look really bad, and one particular character has his hair conveniently over his eyes so that the animators wouldn’t have to draw them. The OP sung by a boy band and the bishounen character-designs quickly show that this is a series, aimed to cater the fangirls. The bad guys don’t help much either, because they’re just a bunch of paper bags that need to be defeated by the good guys. But that’s where the three-episode format for this series comes into play. This isn’t your top-quality series, but the episode was fun to watch. The creators managed to keep this episode interesting, despite the faulty ingredients. The music is also very decent, and as it look like, this series won’t have any time to get boring. This really is one of these series that’s for those rainy days when you’re bored and need half an hour to burn.

Saiunkoku Monogatari Review – 90/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Saiunkoku Monogatari


I can sort-of understand why people often are reluctant to check out very lengthy series. After all, they’re a huge commitment and it’s very hard to tell whether it will turn out worthwhile or not if you have to sit through more than sixty episodes. Series like Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball Z and Inuyasha went on and on, amidst pointless fillers, and just could have gotten so much better if they were just 1/4th of their original length.

Still, let me say that for every lengthy series that screws up, you can always find a lengthy series that’s absolutely worth the commitment. Take Legend of Galactic Heroes, Gintama, or any of the World Masterpiece series. And of course Saiunkoku Monogatari. It’s set in a world, reminiscent of ancient China, and follows Shuurei, as she tries to be the first female govermnent official, in a male-dominated society.

Of course, there’s much more to the story than just that. The series starts out as an innocent shoujo love-drama, but soon enough this series shows its josei-roots and develops its huge cast of characters perfectly. Be sure to expect lots of politics. The different arcs are very different from each other, and they’re more than enough to keep this series interesting though its entire run. And of course, there’s quite a bit of romance as well, but don’t expect standard Shoujo-romance here. Quite often, you see two characters who are in love with each other, yet can never be together due to their social status, or the things they did in the past.

I do want to note, though, that some parts of this series are less interesting than others. Saiunkoku Monogatari has a couple of incredibly deep and well-developed characters, but it needs to build up a lot in order to achieve this. There will be a few arcs that aren’t that special, other than that they build up for some amazing scenes, later on in the series. It’s also a shame that the final quarter of the series builds up to a third season that’ll probably arrive in two or three years. The final few episodes also showcase some dramatic budget-problems, with three recap-episodes within twenty episodes, so that’s also something to take into account.

Still, despite the flaws, Saiunkoku remains a versatile and engaging series. If you liked The Twelve Kingdoms (I haven’t seen the series myself, but I hear from everywhere that that’s another excellent series), you’ll definitely like this series. Now all that’s left is to wait a few years for the third season to arrive!

February Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

I must say that this has been the best winter-season we’ve had in years. usually, they just features one or two great series, but this season juast has a whole bunch of worthwhile watches, albeit you do have to look a bit harder than usual.

#28 (28) – Dragonaut The Resonance – (6,6/10) – This is quite rare: the plot has turned out to be quite interesting, but any attempts to further develop it are greatly hammered by the characters. They’re either stereotypes, or are the product of soap-opera plot-twists and melodrama.
#27 (26) – Hatenkou Yuugi – (6,9/10) – The best thing about this series is the card-game of episode six. Apart from that, it just feels like a lazy manga-adaptation. The manga may have had excellent dialogue, but it feels like the anime-staff hardly even cares about it.
#26 (new) – Mnemosne no Musume-Tachi – (7/10) – I’m not yet sold on the gore + fanservice-concept of Mnemosyne. There is potential, but the first episode felt mostly unimpressive to me.
#25 (new) – Mai Otome S.ifr – (7,2/10) – Well, here we go again. At least this one looks to be a bit more solid than its predecessor, but do the characters have to be so annoying?
#24 (24) – Bamboo Blade – (7,2/10) – What the heck has happened to Bamboo Blade? This should be a time of character-development, and the creators should try their best to keep the characters interesting. Who found it a good idea to come up with the pointless foreign girl-arc and braver-arc? Seriously, these have been some of the dullest episodes of this series yet.
#23 (19) – Persona – Trinity Soul – (8/10) – I’m not sure what the creators had in mind with these rather silly side-stories. As a 12-episode series, it really needs to use its time to develop its story and I’m not sure about the point behind wasting half an episode on a haunted-house side-quest.
#22 (???) – Armored Trooper Votoms – Pailsen Files – (8,2/10) – Like expected from Ryousuke Takahashi: a solid science-fiction series that focuses more on believability than action. It’s nothing amazing yet, but it did go into the right direction.
#21 (10) – Gigantic Formula – (8,2/10) – Finally another episode got released, and I must say that I’m impressed how the creators took such a faulty concept and turned it into something worthwhile. I do admit that I like how the corrupt government-subplot has turned out, though these guys seriously lack in development.
#20 (11) – Saiunkoku Monogatari – (8,3/10) – I’m not happy with Madhouse, as it’s continuing its trend of screwing up the endings of its adaptations. The story of Saiunkoku Monogatari has finally become amazing now, and this is definitely NOT THE TIME for budget-problems!
#19 (5) – Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei – (8,3/10) – Well, the subs are as fast as ever and only one episode got released this month. It wasn’t as continuously hilarious as the previous ones, but thankfully it did feature a bunch of brilliant and clever jokes.
#18 (10) – Gintama – (8,3/10) – I have seen better months for Gintama, but episode 48 and 49 both had a couple of brilliant jokes and parodies.
#17 (21) – Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji – (8,4/10) – For the past month, I’ve loved Kaiji in terms of the small picture, but looking at the big picture I feel that it could have been handled better.
#16 (20) – Spice and Wolf – (8,4/10) – Spice and Wolf too has been unspectacular, yet incredibly solid. Its main characters are well-defined, and I admit that the attention to politics and the in-depth look at the job of a medieval merchant turned really interesting. One point of criticism would be that the side-characters could have gotten more attention, as they hardly receive any sort of background or development.
#15 (15) – Clannad – (8,4/10) – Okay, let’s hope now that Clannad has finally shaken away its harem-roots (about the only thing I really didn’t like about this series), so that it can focus on what’s really important. Apart from that, this series has been as solid as usual.
#14 (18) – Gundam 00 – (8,4/10) – Thankfully, every single character has now become more likable apart from Saji. This series still isn’t anything special, but it’s getting more enjoyable with every month.
#13 (12) – Kimikiss Pure Rouge – (8,5/10) – It’s sad to see that Mao has become exactly what I feared her to be: love-triangle bait without any possibility of success. Fortunately, she has been well-developed, which makes up for this a lot. In addition, Kazuki’s story did turn out in an excellent way.
#12 (17) – Suteki Tantei Labyrinth – (8,6/10) – Well, it looks like this series has finally stopped fooling around, and got to its serious part. So far the drama has been surprisingly interesting and the characters are actually well-enough developed and likable.
#11 (13) – True Tears – (8,7/10) – For a 13-episode love-story, True Tears is top-notch. It really makes use of the limited time it’s been given, and the characters are already getting developed.

#10 (7) – Shigofumi – Stories of the Last Letter – (8,8/10)

I like how Shigofumi, amidst the series of Jigoku Shoujo, Shinigami no Ballad and others, managed to find its own style and niche, and continued with this. The stories are well-developed and the extreme plot-twists are enough to keep me more than interested. Okay, you won’t find any subtlety in this series, but that’s part of its charms.

#9 (22) – Kekkaishi – (8,9/10)

Kekkaishi has rocked now that its ending has gotten nearer. I like the wit of the writers to not let everything climax at a worst-case scenario. Now let’s hope they won’t screw up the ending.

#8 (14) – Hakaba Kitarou – (8,9/10)

This series does an excellent job at surprising its viewer. I must say that I never saw some of the plot-twists coming and on top of that the way this series combines horror with humour deserves points as well.

#7 (2) – Wellber no Monogatari – Sisters of Wellber – (8,9/10)

Wellber hasn’t been as good as last month, but that’s probably because of the time it spent building up for the grand finale, and it’s promising to become an awesome one.

#6 (6) – Perrine Monogatari – (9/10)

This is the power of the early episodes of the World Masterpiece Series: you know things are about to happen, you’ll just never know when they will. In the meantime, I keep rooting for Perrine’s mother to get better, even though I know that this’ll be useless.

#5 (4) – Mokke – (9/10)

I’m not sure what it is that this series has, but every time I watch an episode, I end up really satisfied. The two lead characters are just so adorable characters, even though they’re a bit cheesy at times.

#4 (9) – Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino – (9/10)

At this point, I hardly care about the new character-designs and lack of budget anymore. Gunslinger Girl – Il Teatrino has a terrific plot, period.

#3 (8) – Porfy no Nagai Tabi – (9,1/10)

Like expected, Porfy no Nagai Tabi has been amazing, even though hardly anything happened yet. Porfy and Mina just feel SO real. Even the Ghibli-movies I’ve seen didn’t feature little children that felt so nostalgic as the two of them.

#2 (3) – Ghost Hound – (9,2/10)

In February, Ghost Hound kept its same style of tense and refreshing storytelling, and started introducing increasingly more interesting psychological concepts. Here’s one series that knows how to build up.

#1 (1) – Shion no Ou – (9,5/10)

Shion no Ou has been absolutely sensational. Not one character is wasted, every episode delivers, and especially Satoru has received a tremendous amount of development this month. It’s already one of my favourite series 2008.

Top Movies and OVAs

by psgels, posted in Special Articles

This is sort-of a compilation-post of all the movies I’ve watched up till now. They’re basically my opinions on the best movies that I’ve checked out. The format is the same as my end-of-the-year summary. I’ve tried to include screenshots, but for a few entries this didn’t work out (tip: never go with an image-host you don’t know). Also, feel free to share your own top-10 of movies and OVAs. 😉

Biggest Disappointment:

Aachi wa Ssipak

One failed comedy, in my opinion. I went in, expecting to see some brilliant jokes, but it went way too far in being absurd, and in the end the most worthwhile aspect of this movie were a couple of very impressive action-scenes.

Most Pleasant Surprise

Blue Submarine No.6

Metropolis too was a gem that I didn’t see coming, but what surprised me even more was that Gonzo’s first real production actually turned out pretty decent. Sure, it may have had its flaws, but I saw no traces at all of the questionable reputation that the studio would build up in the years afterwards.

Funniest Movie

Eternal Family

One thing that surprised me was that there were very few good comedy-movies. Okay, I may not have looked carefully enough, but still. In any case, the biggest sources of laughs for me were Satoshi Kon and Studio 4C, and one particular part of Robot Carnival. Still, I don’t think anything can beat a sadistic baby with a pair of scissors, so Eternal Family wins for this award.

Best Graphics

Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence

Well, I don’t think there’s hardly any contest here. Everything about this movie looks absolutely stunning. An honourable mention goes to Metropolis, though. Yet another visual feast.

Best Action

Adolescence of Utena

Of course, it’s a given that you need to have seen the original series to fully enjoy the movie, but if it’s action you want, then you should give this one a shot. Good action in my eyes isn’t flashy, but creative, and that perfectly describes the scenes you’ll see here.

Best Mystery

Twillight Q

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many mystery-movies and OVAs, though the three movies/OVAs with the best mystery in my eyes are Twillight Q, the xxxHolic-movie and They Were 11. All movies have a great mystery-oriented plot and a definite recommendation for any mystery-fan.

Best Science-Fiction

Jin Roh – The Wolf Brigade

Science Fiction doesn’t need to take place in the future, it can also play in an alternate universe. In addition to Jin Roh, Metropolis, Alien Nine and Hyper Future Vision Gunm also feature some very interesting ideas and settings.

Best Short Movie

Comedy

For those who want to waste ten minutes, Comedy by Studio 4C is my top-recommendation. She and Her Cat was great too.

Best Romance

Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress took romance to a whole new level, with terrific results. Other gems include Jin Roh, Porco Rosso and Mahou Tsukai Tai.

Most Thought-provoking Movie

Patlabor II

Unsurprisingly, a production by Mamoru Oshii. The plot is so complex and the storytelling is so captivating that it’ll definitely keep your mind busy as it goes on. Other and OVAs with interesting themes are Hitsuji no Uta, the second Kino no Tabi-movie, Eternal Family and Tokyo Godfathers.

Best Story

Arete Hime

Arete Hime was very slow, but it also had a memorable story. This was quite hard award to decide, as the stories of Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and They Were 11 all sparkle with creativity as well.

Best Character-Development

The Dog of Flanders

The characters for the Dog of Flanders were just amazing, and it’s an award well-deserved. I do want to hand out a honorable mention for Oseam and Hitsuji no Uta, though. I’m still impressed at the huge depth of its characters.

Top 10 Movies and OVAs

#10: Hitsuji no Uta

I know that I’ve given it a relatively low rating, when compared to the others on this list. But looking back, I can see what an amazing character-study it has been.

#9: Jin Roh

Mamoru Oshii’s best work. Everything seems to fit in this movie, nothing feels rushed at all.

#8: Arete Hime

It’s a bit strange for a movie about boredom to appear on a top-10 list, but I really enjoyed this little Studio 4C-production. This is everything a fantasy-movie should be.

#7: Rurouni Kenshin – Tsuiokuhen

Of course, this one can’t be omitted in a list like this one. The original series may be to large of a commitment with its 90 episodes, but its four-episode OVA is a must-watch.

#6: Millennium Actress

The movie about movies. Satoshi Kon shows the viewer here an imaginative story with an absolutely lovable cast.

#5: Eternal Family

Eternal Family has a bunch of terrific themes, it’s hilarious and it also has a great cast. With thirty minutes, it also has the perfect length so that its jokes won’t be milked out, and it’s among the best movies that Studio 4C has created.

#4: Metropolis

Osamu Tezuka’s own productions may have been flawed, but when it’s another director who was tasked to bring his old creations back to live, then the results become amazing. Metropolis has really been a terrific movie, despite its standard storyline and concept.

#3: Tokyo Godfathers

In my opinion, Satoshi Kon’s best work. It has managed to mix a great sense of humour with a terrific storyline and quite an original setting.

#2: Tales of Phantasia

What can I say? Tales of Phantasia was one of the reasons why I started blogging in the first place, and although I feel I’m a bit biased, it’s been my most favourite OVA ever since.

#1: The Dog of Flanders

I’m so glad that I gave the Dog of Flanders a chance, as it’s without a doubt the best movie I’ve seen. The story is just so gut-wrenchingly sad, and another example of why Nippon Animation is one of my favourite animation-studios, along with Studio 4C and Production IG.

Millennium Actress Review – 91/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Back in August, I made a rather large list of all kinds of worthwhile movies and OVAs, as a way to systematically catch up them, just like I did before with 13-episode series. I became an anime-fan relatively late, so I missed out on a lot of good stuff and this was the prefect chance to get my hands on a number of true anime classics. And with Millennium Actress, I finally finished this list. I’ll try to come up with some kind of compilation-post with my highlights tomorrow or the day after that.

In any case, Millennium Actress by Satoshi Kon was the perfect movie to save for last. Not only is it an excellent movie, but it also pays homage to all kinds of historical movie-genres. While I can’t say that it’s been the definite best movie ever, it does have the most imaginative storyline that I’ve ever seen in one. It even leaves the various Ghibli-productions miles behind it!

You can also recognize elements of other productions of Satoshi Kon. Suddenly, the RPG-episode of Paranoia Agent makes perfect sense and I can understand a bit where Paprika went wrong with its constant repeats of the same shots: Satoshi there tried to relive one particular scene of this movie, but he went much too far in that. Also, like all of his movies, the main characters stand miles apart from the sort of cast you usually see in anime, and their average age is probably the highest of any anime I’ve seen.

And this yet again shows that older characters can be just as fun to watch as the teenage ones. All members of the main cast are absolutely lovable, both the males and the females. I just couldn’t help but root for them throughout the entire movie. What also absolutely shines is the story. This is much more than just a simple love story, and Satoshi Kon goes way beyond the usual clichés and formulas. Unfortunately, the movie is not perfect. One thing I really missed in the second half was the hilarious sense of humour of the first half. It’s of course inevitable to become more serious as the movie progresses, but Tokyo Godfathers demonstrated that the jokes in the second half can really work in the movie’s advantage if they’re delivered well.

Looking back, it’s a shame that Satoshi’s record got spoiled with Paprika. That movie just feels outright mediocre when compared to all his stellar works, and it’s much, much worse than all of his other directing-jobs. Seriously, Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and Paranoia Agent all are excellent recommendations. All four are unique, all four have an excellent and realistic modern art-style, and all of them have an absolutely stellar soundtrack, with the background music from Millennium Actress probably being the best of them all.

Rurouni Kenshin – Tsuiokuhen Review – 90/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Tsuiokuhen, or Trust and Betrayal, is the prequel (although it was produced later) to the series Rurouni Kenshin. Don’t worry; you don’t need to have seen the series to enjoy this four-episode OVA. I haven’t seen it myself, nor am I planning to (my to-watch-list is already large enough without the addition of a ninety-episode series), but I was perfectly able to follow what was going on without feeling left out, unlike the two Patlabor-movies. The original series may be too large of a commitment, but this four-episode OVA is a must-watch.

Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone who didn’t like this after watching it. The story itself may have been done before, but the storytelling and characters more than make up for it. This is one anime that perfectly knows how to use its time with a great balance of building up and intense scenes. Sure, there are some very nice fights, but the two main characters really steal the show. The side-characters are also well-defined, and have their own clear roles to play and at the end, the storylines are all very neatly wrapped up.

Still, in terms of sword-fighting this series delivers as well. There may be fewer fights than you would expect, but right now I can’t remember having seen any other anime with more detail in its choreography than what I’ve seen in this OVA, even considering the epics of Shigurui and Seirei no Moribito. In addition to that, the background music is also stellar. The only thing I can name that gets close to a bad point is the fact that the main character may have been a bit too young to be such a masterful and unbeatable swordsman.

Still, after watching it, I totally understand why Tsuiokuhen is so popular and well-loved. If you’re into period-anime, this just has to sit on your watch-list, and this is another top-notch OVA. The people from Studio Deen have proven once again that even though they screw up at times, they can churn out a classic just as easily.

Perfect Blue Review – 87/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Perfect Blue: take a random episode of Paranoia Agent, remove all traces of humour whatsoever and extend the result into a ninety-minute movie. I originally thought that this series would be more like Tokyo Godfathers, but instead we get a story about paranoia, schizophrenia and hallucinations. And While I liked Tokyo Godfathers better, Perfect Blue is a very capable movie as well.

Satoshi Kon knows how to build up his story, and this is even apparent in his first major movie. It starts with a simple case where an ex-idol is being stalked by an obsessed fan, and the series turns more and more into a psychological horror-series afterwards. Like expected, the biggest purpose of this movie is to dive into the mind of its main character, and it succeeds pretty well at this. Mima is a terrific character, and even though she may freak out, she’s far away from an emo teenager in the middle of puberty.

This movie does have its problems, though. It feels like a few of the side-characters weren’t used to their full potential. While I can understand why Satoshi Kon decided not to show much of the background of the major bad guys, it would have been interesting to see more of the reasons behind their actions, and their backgrounds. The ending also felt a tad too abrupt, and an extra minute would have done wonders on it. A little more involvement with the police would also have been desired. Quite a few people get killed, but you hardly ever see the cops.

Overall, I agree with the general opinion for this movie: Perfect Blue is great, but it’s not Satoshi Kon’s best work. Still, if it’s paranoia you want, then you should definitely give it a chance. With a terrific soundtrack and a gritty, realistic setting, away from the usual idol-stereotypes you see in anime, this movie won’t leave you disappointed.

So, after this, there’s just one movie and one OVA left that I want to check out. I think it’s pretty obvious which ones I saved for last, but I’m not going to say which they are just yet. 😉

The Dog of Flanders Review – 93/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews


Yes, you’ve read the rating right. I hardly ever give a movie a rating above 90/100, because of the limited time they have to work with, and this is the highest rating I’ve ever handed out to a movie. I knew that this was going to be a good movie because of the stories I’ve heard about the original novel, but I never expected that it would be THIS good. The Dog of Flanders has left me in an emotional wreck, and I honestly say that it’s been the best movie I’ve ever seen.

The people from Nippon Animation are true gods when it comes to adaptations. They always remain faithful and they always get the best out of their source material. If the source-material is such a tear-jerker as this one, the results really turn out amazing. This movie is heart-wrenching, from start to finish. It never shows any moments of weakness, and when one grievingly sad scene ends, you can be sure that it’ll be followed by an even sadder scene next.

The story makes perfect use of the amazing characters. No character feels incomplete, they all have their own subtle backgrounds, they all well-developed characters with their own well-defined roles. Even the small side-characters have a personality, and they work so incredibly well with the main characters. The only thing that isn’t absolutely stellar about this movie are the visuals. After all, it has been animated by Nippon Animation, and it dates back from 1997, so the art style does look simple.

But that should be no reason to not check out this movie. Over the past few months, I’ve watched a lot of different movies, and I kept nitpicking on how they always came out flawed somehow, and how each movie, despite its good points, didn’t quite make it to become truly memorable. This is why I often prefer TV-series. But a Dog of Flanders is different. It’s a true masterpiece, and it’s a real shame that so little people seem to have watched it. Both AniDB, Anime News Network and MyAnimeList have just thirty people who voted for it. If you’re looking for a sad story, then The Dog of Flanders should be the first on your list to check out.