I stumbled across this anime and was intrigued by the plot. A very brief description of it would be that it's a combination of Danganronpa and Death Note, with some time travel tossed in.
The main character is named Yuki, a very solitary boy who keeps an observational journal on his phone. He has no friends, by choice, and is in every way an observer of his own life, not actually taking part emotionally. His only 'friends' are imaginary beings, a god named Deus, and a little sprite my creature. One night while talking with his imaginary friends, Deus tells him that things are going to change, and the next day, he finds that his diary posts on his phone have already been written for the day, telling him what will happen. He happily takes advantage of his soothsaying device, until on day, a girl in his class approaches him, and reveals that her phone is also special, also able to predict the future. This freaks him out obviously, but it isn't until that night when he meets Deus, as well as several other faceless strangers, that he finds out what's going on. He, as well as several other people, have been granted devices that tell them the future, and they must use these devices to find and kill each other. When a person has been targeted by another diary user, their own diary will tell them that they have a 'dead end', and they must try to change their fate if they can.
The last person standing becomes god. And all diaries are different, and reflect the personality of the user. Yuki is an observer, so his diary predicts events that will happen around him, but there are other types of diaries too. Yuki then is faced with a battle royale to inherit the seat of god.
I had some annoyances while watching this. Yuki is a very timid boy, which is fine, but he doesn't show any significant growth until very late in the show. He's always whining and crying, and the other characters comment on this as well throughout the story. What was refreshing is that this personality is usually given to females in anime, but all of the females showed various levels of considerable strength, which was nice. Yuno's character, the girl who is apparently obsessed with Yuki, was also troubling at times, but her character became more of a mystery as the show went on, so I was more curious about what her story was than annoyed by her rabbid obsession.
This is definitely not a pg show. There is physical, sexual, and emotional violence, as well as some nudity. It is a pretty good show however. The plot becomes increasingly complex and surprising, and will leave you guessing to the very end, after the credits. It's only 26 episodes long, and that goes by pretty quickly. It's one of those shows that you'll want to marathon. And while you might be annoyed by some of the characters at various points, you won't be bored.
This is a 13 episode anime that was originally a video game on PSP. It's a murder mystery story about a group of kids who are enrolled in this elite high school, based on a skill they specialize in, only to find that they may never be allowed to leave there for the rest of their lives. The school is abandoned except for the students, and this malicious talking bear. The bear tells them that the only way they'll be able to leave the school will be if they are the only person alive. If ever there is a death in the school, all of the students will meet as a council to try to figure out who the murderer is. If they guess correctly, the murderer will be killed. If they guess incorrectly, everyone except the murderer will be killed, and the murderer can walk free.
The story was surprisingly intricate and well thought out. Murder mysteries can by kind of difficult to do, because it's a challenge to come up with a good plot that the audience won't be able to guess right away, but this show does it brilliantly. With each event that takes place, we are shown the evidence that the characters see as they inspect the crime scene, and then go with them to the trial and hear them deduce what they will. The first couple of murders are pretty straight forward, but as they go on, they become increasingly difficult to figure out. Also, as another person is murdered, a different section of the school is opened up, and typically the next murder will happen in the new wing of the school. All the while, the students are simultaneously trying to figure out how they will be able to escape this place and who is behind this torturous game.
It's a fast-paced story that keeps you guessing until the very end. They also play with a few different styles of animation, which keeps things fresh. I know it looks kind of cheesy, but give it a try. You will enjoy it.
You can watch the first episode here for the time being.
This is a film from the studio Ghibli, but unlike the other more famous films from that studio (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, etc) this one wasn't a Hayao Myazaki production. It does however moderately borrow his style, so it has that appeal. The story is based on the book titled, The Borrowers by Mary Norton, and indeed, the characters share the same names as their novel counterparts.
The story is about a young girl named Arrietty who lives with her mom and dad in a huge house in the countryside. This house is much more large for Arrietty and her parents, because they are all tiny people, about the height of a mouse. Arrietty is a borrower, a small person who lives in a regular bein' (human being) sized house, and borrow things from around the house to survive. If anyone finds out they're there however, they must leave for their own safety.
The story begins when a young human boy comes to the house Arrietty lives in. Sho (or Shawn in the English version), is a terminally sick boy whose mother was raised in that house. He was moved out to the country for the sake of his health, but he's a very lonely boy. Arrietty on the other hand, is ready to go out on her first borrowing mission, but she has some bad luck and Sho sees her! This is a big problem for Arrietty and her family because it means they must now leave the house. Sho of course is delighted that there might be little magical people living in the house and tried to find Arrietty and get close to her. We get to see a little bit of Arrietty's world, Sho's attempts to interact with Arrietty, throw in a suspicious housekeeper who seems to have a burning desire to destroy what she suspects to be little thieves in her house, and that's pretty much the movie.
I'm familiar with this story. I've read the novel and seen the 1997 version of The Borrowers (which I slightly prefer to this representation by the way), so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect and had my own expectations going in. But the film wasn't a disappointment. It was a little slow-moving at times, but the pace was consistent and never did I feel that the story was stagnating. It was more of a charming film than a comedy or drama, more exploratory. I do have to say however, that it was not a top-notch film. Though it used the same style of animation and storytelling as in the Myazaki films, the mood of the film was somewhat stagnant in comparison and lacked that air of magical possibility. In comparison with the 1197 English version, it was a very slow-moving interpretation of the story. The parents are also kind of flat personalities that rely on stereotype rather than demonstration to let you know who they are, and that could be said about almost every character except for Arrietty herself. However, that said, the movie was a nice little film overall and worth a sit through.
This is a short, anime, only one season of 12 episodes, but it has an interesting concept. The anime is based on a book series and a manga.
The story is about a very reserved girl who lives in a mountain shrine with her guardians and has been sheltered and protected for her entire life. She feels that there is nothing special about her, and indeed, the only thing we know about her to be different is that technology shorts out or even breaks when she touches it. She has been told however that she is a very important person, a princess, and must be protected at all costs. The story begins with her act of cutting her extremely long hair to make bangs for herself... a seeming act of rebellion as magical strength is sometimes linked to ones hair, and this act is the first step in her taking a very small step toward self actualization. Or at least affirming that she is able to do something by her own will. The next change is that an old childhood acquaintance re-enters her life, and she is told that this boy (who has never been nice to her and seems disgusted by the fact that he must do what he is told) is her servant and will be enrolling in her school to protect her.
The plot progresses, and these two interact with each other (reluctantly) and meet new people with magical ability, throughout all of which she discovers that her body is to house a very powerful spirit and grows in magical ability herself. She very slowly comes out of her shell and begins to make personal relationships, and more actively begins to interact with her magical abilities and with the spirit world.
This was an unsatisfying anime to watch. Not because it wasn't good, because it was; the characters, narrative, and take on the fantasy genre were all very compelling. It was just too short. The characters developed too slowly for the length of the show, as did the plot, and by the last episode I felt as though I was at the inciting moment of the plot... where the true story should now begin. The story ends before any of the characters resolve any personal tensions, before the relationship between the heroine and the spirit possessing her was explored and we understood the boundary between the two, or if in fact they were two people at all, and what would happen to the heroine's spirit if they aren't. We aren't even told in any great detail the significance of this 'very powerful' spirit, and the ramifications of her presence or lack there of in our world. It ended at the beginning basically. The book series might go into more detail, bu the anime is highly unsatisfying.
Not un-worth the watch though. In what they do show you, the character development is well done, and the interactions with the other world and with various magical abilities are well thought out and the basis for a very good show. If this show was one or two more seasons long, it has the potential to be one of the better animes... but it doesn't go far enough. So I would still recommend it to be watched in appreciation of the story, but prepare for the unsatisfying ending.
This anime is of the 'magical girl' genre, but unlike Sailor Moon or Cardcaptors or Shugo Chara, it's a bit darker.
For those who may be unfamiliar with this type of story, the magical girl genre involves stories about girls (usually ordinary girl next door type of girls) who are contacted by some magical being, and are given the choice to accept magical powers. They are then obligated to use these powers to combat evil magic already in the world, or to complete some task with their magic.
In this story, the girl's name is Madoka, and she is a sweet, good- hearted girl. She doesn't have anything that distinguishes her from any other girl... in fact, she may be lacking in several areas in comparison. Everything changes for her however, when a new exchange student transfers into her class. The girl stares at Madoka, who oddly enough had had a dream about her the previous night. The girl warns Madoka that if she values her friends and family, she should not make any changes to herself. Madoka of course finds this odd, but disregards it. Later that day, she hears a voice in her head calling out for help. The voice belongs to this cat-like creature, who the new transfer student is apparently trying to kill. Madoka and her friend are then exposed to the hidden world of witches and magical girls. The cat-like creature, named Kyubey, explains that he has the power to grant a chosen girl any one wish in the entire world. But in exchange for that wish, the girl must agree to become a magical girl, and devote her life to hunting down 'witches' or evil spirits that are the cause of many unexplained evils in the world. Madoka and her friend Sayaka are both chosen by Kyubey, and try to learn more about this world, to see if any wish they might make would be worth giving up their freedom, and maybe their lives. However, the transfer student is adamantly against Madoka becoming a magical girl, and does everything in her power to prevent this. Kyubey said that Madoka would be the more powerful magical girl who had ever existed to this point if she were to choose to turn. Is the new girl afraid of her power? Is there anything Madoka would wish for that would compensate for what she might lose? Why is someone as insignificant as Madoka so important in what seems to be the fate of the world?
As I said before, this is a darker manifestation of the magical girl genre. There is a very real possibility of death with every battle the girls may face, and indeed we witness several deaths. A couple, quite significant to the plot. The girls are fighting against these monsters, but they are also fighting against themselves for territory. If a girl kills a witch, she gets to cleanse her source of magic with what is left over from the witch, and if the girl doesn't do this, something bad may happen to her. As the story progresses, we find out that being a magical girl is not at all a fun thing, that a lot of sacrifice and heartbreak and loneliness results from the wish they make. We also learn that there may be more to the contract with Kyubey then we might have been initially told. The show deals with the idea of 'good deeds', and how much of yourself you would be willing to give for the benefit of someone else, without getting anything in return. It makes you wonder, is there anything you would want enough to sacrifice your life for, or at least your livelihood? Just how valuable are the relationships in your life? What would you give to keep them, or let them go? Just how much do you actually care about others? And more interestingly, what do you consider about yourself to be human? Your body?
An interesting, if not somber, show. The animation was interesting as well. The anime was very detailed at some points, but the scenes with the witches played around with animation styles. Another interesting thing about this show is that the main character of this 'magical girl' show, is for the most part, the only main character who is not a magical girl. It re-imagines the genre, and positions it for an older audience, who maybe grew up with the more traditional magical girl shows. It takes a little while to get into, but it brings a new level of complexity to the genre. It's only 12 episodes long and can be seen online.
This is an animated movie about an agency that has developed a device that allows an agent to go into a client's dreams and provide therapy. Things start to get strange however, when the dreams start getting out of control and begin trying to take over people's waking lives, even influencing the to kill themselves. Kind of sounds like Inception (2010), doesn't it. Doesn't it. Well, it's not exactly like Inception, but there are several similar themes.
Paprika is the dream form of a young woman whose job it is to help clients work out psychological problems by participating in and interacting with their dreams. The company she works for has developed a device that allows the company to see the client's dreams, and interact with them in their dreams, but this new technology is still in the trial period and has not been sanctioned by the government yet. The government decides that these devices are too dangerous to be on the market, but before they can remove these products, one of them is stolen, and is being used to drive some of the scientists to insanity, and even death. The dream world slowly begins to seep into the real world, and it's up to Paprika to overcome the obstacles put in her way to find who is behind this madness, and to stop it before it's too late.
This is an amazing movie. The plot is interesting of course, but I would recommend that you watch this more for the visual and aural experience, and I guarantee that that will be what you will take away from the film, and what you'll be talking about with your friends (if you are a loser like me and talk about films with your friends). Watching this film is like watching a moving canvas. Because it takes place in the dream world (and because it's Japanese) weird is ok, which makes for an amazing visual experience. I can't stress this enough, you'll be tripping even if you're sober. There are one of two disturbing scenes, the film is rated R, but if you're a mature adolescent or older, I'm sure you'll be just fine. The soundtrack is also amazing. I don't usually go out of my way to enjoy a soundtrack if the film is not a musical, but I listen to this soundtrack on a regular basis. It's high energy and quirky.
The movie starts off kind of slow, but once it gets going you'll be unable to tear your eyes away... maybe in a good way and maybe in a bad way... but you'll remember watching it either way.
This is a movie about two thieves who target an old and wealthy castle for their next gig where they think a counterfeit money operation is happening.
The main character is named Lupin, a charismatic, clever master thief with almost as many tricks up his sleeves as batman. Lupin takes his partner to the Duchy or Cagliostro where the rumoured counterfeit bills are supposedly being made and meets Princess Clarisse. When Lupin first meets her, Clarisse is in something of a predicament and is trying to escape a group of men. Lupin is oddly drawn to her and bumps into her again later, discovering that she is being forced to marry a count. As it turns out, the count is also at the center of the whole counterfeit operation. In addition to the counterfeits, there is also rumoured to be a hidden treasure somewhere in the castle of Cagliostro, a treasure that may be tied to matching rings both the count and Clarissa wear, and the count wants dearly to find it. Lupin gets into more and more trouble with the count as he tries both liberate the princess and wrest the mysterious treasure from his power, after he finds it of course. In addition to all this, there is a police officer on Lupin's tail, hoping to catch him and throw him into jail for all the past offenses he's committed.
I first heard of this movie a while back, but delayed watching it. It was directed by Hayao Miyazaki before Studio Ghibli came together, so I knew there was a good chance the story would be good, but the animation style really isn't my favourite, and the first five minutes didn't really grab me. Fortunately, the story is done well enough that I was able to look past the animation style and appreciate the story. Once the plot gets going it really draws you in. It's intricate, but fun. There's mystery, suspense, action, and just a hint of romance. A hidden gem, don't pay much attention to the packaging, this one is worthy of a watch. The dubbed version is currently on Youtube.
This show is about a guy who wakes up one day to find that his right hand has been replaced with the top half of a girl. This girl's real body has fallen into a coma and her spirit has attached itself to the guys hand because she has a really big crush on him. The premise is kind of ridiculous, and slightly perverted, but the show was surprisingly decent.
The guy, Seiji, is a sort of delinquent at his school. He's a tough guy who seems to fight more than he attends class. This all changes however when one morning he waking up with Midori as a right hand. Midori is a girl who goes to a different school than Seiji and knows him from the times she's seen him at the train station, but she's always been too shy to go up to him to confess her feelings to him. When she wakes up on his hand however, she's over-joyed. Also, as the figure on Seiji's hand isn't actually Midori herself, but her spirit, she has lost her inhibitions and tells Seiji that she loves him when she first sees him.
Seiji opens up a bit and people at school are less afraid of him as a result of Midori's effect on him. Potential rivals for Midori's love appear when Seiji's softer side comes to light. Of course this is troublesome for Midori because she can't really compete with a real person when she's a hand. Because she's his hand, Seiji has to constantly wrap her up in a bandage to hide her existence from others. Though this routine is a bit aggravating for the both of them, they get used to it over time.
Midori's struggle in the show is ultimately her self-confidence and sense of self-worth. I mean there's nothing abnormal about her emotional state for someone that age, but when she left her body to be with Seiji she ran away from some issues she was dealing with. Part of the show is her ability to regain the strength to brave her situation in life. Seiji on the other hand has no confidence issues he needs to work out. Rather, in the show he slowly opens himself up more to others and finds a sense of balance in his life. Eventually Midori does decide to leave Seiji and return to her own body. After she has returned, will she once again be able to confess her love to Seiji? Will she want to? Who knows?!?!
Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this show, especially after how much I expected to not like it.
Here's the intro. You can find the first episode dubbed on YouTube
So I came across this anime... and it is the most pointless show ever. The idea for this show is that the viewer is supposed to play this while they're going to sleep. So that they can sleep with Hinako, literally sleep with her. There are some perverted angles, but no nudity. I wouldn't recommend that a young person watch it, lets put it that way.
Anyway, the show starts off with Hinako saying that she's ready to go to bed, and then lying down talking to the viewer for a bit, and then sleeping. Pervy shots throughout. And that's pretty much it. When I first heard about the show I didn't really believe that that's all the show was about. I felt like there must be something more, but after a quick internet search and 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back... yes that's all there is to it. It's basically a show for lonely, lonely, girlfriend-less men.
I kind of want to recommend this show so that someone else can feel my pain... but no, do not watch it.
This is a story about an elementary aged school girl named Hinamori Amu. She's known as the cool girl, or the tough girl in her school because of her non-nonchalance and tough-guy attitude, but really, Amu is very different from her exterior. One day when she wakes up, there are three eggs in her bed, and one by one these eggs hatch into little guardian beings the represent who Amu would really like to be. Amu is recognized as a 'character bearer' and is asked to join an elite club at school called The Guardians, the members of which also have guardian beings of their own. As the plot progresses, Amu finds out that there is something or someone out there trying to take the dreams of children away and turn them into negative self-doubt, for some unknown and evil purpose. It is up to Amu, with the help of her new friends, to save the dreams of these kids and stop whoever is behind the attacks.
The basic premiss of the show is that all children have dreams and hopes and desires in regards to who they want to be when they grow up. Some may want to be really good at baking, some may want to be really good at art, some may just want to make other people happy. In the show these dreams are represented by eggs, which is nice in theory, I mean you give birth to this wish but don't know what it is until it hatches into something. But I have to very honest, it's only after watching two seasons of the show that I was able to stop cracking up at the whole egg idea (yes? yes.). To top it off there are these magical items in the show, a lock held by Amu, and a key held by one of her love interests, and these are called, wait for it.... the Humpty Lock. And the Dumpty Key. I laughed my way through the first ten episodes. I mean the episodes were good... but sometimes the execution was just ridiculous. Oh Japan, how I admire and love you.
Aside from some funnier elements of the show, the story was actually really well done. The plot, while dragging in some places (as do most in the magical girl genre.. what with the capturing and everything), was surprisingly well thought out and intricate compared to others in the genre. The show is basically playing with the idea of having a dream or a goal, or even an idealized version of yourself that you'd like to one day achieve. But of course, everyone has doubts and fears, especially when what they're dreaming for is very important, and sometimes that fear or that lack of self-confidence can get the better of you and make that dream seem impossible. One of the main objectives in the show was that Amu cleanse all of the 'x eggs' or the eggs that were consumed by self-doubt. While this got a bit tedious by the second season, for the most part a little lesson about the human psyche was learned with each cleansing. Sometimes through the dialogue of the characters, sometimes just by observing the situation. This is coming to me at a time in my life when I'm also struggling with these issues, so I might be over-playing the whole 'finding yourself' theme.. but it's good.
The characters were also well done. None of the characters were one dimensional... which can sometimes happen in animes. There was at least one episode devoted to developing each of the side characters to augment the personality they usually display. I won't go too much into character development because one of the best things about these kinds of shows it the anticipation of wondering when certain things will happen, and the surprise when they throw you something from left field. If you're familiar with manga and anime, the surprises won't be entirely shocking, but if you're not... they might be. And if you're not I suggest you get into it!! If you are willing to go there, I don't know what it is, but the Japanese are some of the best when it comes to emotional turmoil, both romantically and not. Anime/ manga or tv drama, it is definitely something to experience.
But yes. All of the characters are pretty strong, each in their own way. And what I enjoy about Amu (in terms of personal strength) is that when the show opens she has this tough, 'strong' exterior that she almost hides behind, and many people might consider that exterior to be true strength, but as the show progresses she finds a new kind of strength. If I were to relate Shugo Chara! to anime's that have come before it, I'd say that it's a combination of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. It's like Sailor Moon because of the purifying souls idea, and the team of helpers that can all transform, but unlike Sailor Moon, Amu is very self-confident and doesn't rely on some guy to fight her battles, nor does she enter into any unhealthy relationships. And it's like Cardcaptors because the show is really about personal development and inner strength, but there it more magic and transforming than Cardcaptors.
So again, though some parts of the show might be hard to swallow at first, if you stick with it you'll be rewarded with cute story about personal strength!
Many years ago the universe was at peace but the universe's enemy, the negaverse, was unhappy with this and tried to destroy the moon kingdom, the set of power in the universe . The queen of the moon kingdom, Serenity, defeated the negaverse by capturing their greatest warriors in crystals and scattering them on earth. She also sent her own daughter, Serena, as well as her court to earth so that they would escape the destruction of the moon kingdom and would live to see another day. Unfortunately they would forget ever having lived on the moon kingdom and everything having to do with their past lives. Queen Serenity also sent two cats to earth to find and protect her daughter and the sailor scouts (each princesses of their respective planets who serve the moon) and reawaken them if the negaverse were ever to strike again.
The idea of this show is really imaginative and inspiring. That some random and slightly flawed girl on earth is the princess of the universe and is the earth's principle warrior to fight against evil. The problem, for me at least, is that Serena is such a weak heroine. She can't do anything on her own, and when she is faced with even the slightest hardship she breaks down crying. She's always whining and is never even slightly interested in protecting anyone or fighting anything. She runs from evil more than she fights from it. And as if that isn't enough, when the other sailor scouts don't come to her defence, or when they are all defeated, some random guy they don't know throws a flower at the bad guy and everything is better. Not only can she not fight her own battles, even though she is the protector of the universe she needs a man to come rescue her from the bad guy. This is a horrible role model. In the beginning I thought that maybe she would only start out this way and would slowly grow stronger with each episode, but she doesn't. The sailor scouts are a bit more mature than Sailor Moon is, and even comment on this several times, but they are still boy-crazy and squabble a lot. The villans are also pretty bad. They could've killed the scouts many times over if they just killed them themselves instead of sending these weak minions. If the cat wasn't there the Sailor Moon would've died many times over.
Despite all of this, I still don't mind watching the show. The last episode or two was pretty good and kind of made up for the rest of the season by putting it into perspective, if only the whole show was like that. It's sort of qualifies as a guilty pleasure show I guess. The transforming and twirling are fun to watch in all of the girly glory, and those parts in particular made me really love the fact that this is a good old-fashioned hand-drawn animation and not cgi. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the cg every now and again, but I still love the older animation style.
So while I don't particularly enjoy some of the personality traits presented here, the show is still fun to watch. And at the end of each episode there's a small 'sailor says' segment where Serena says some moral or other about treating people well or saving the environment. And to give credit to the show I watched the US dubbed version which sort of ripped off the original Japanese version by cutting out scenes or whole episodes and changing some of the language to suit a younger audience. I know the same thing has happened to a lot of shows, Cardcaptors and Anne of Green Gables for instance were changed to suit US tv. So I'll give the show the benefit of the doubt and that the original is better than the US version. But a good show regardless.
This is a Japanese cartoon adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk. I don't know what it is about it, but I think I will always remember watching this film. It's not traumatizing or overly weird, I felt more hypnotized than anything while watching it. It's just like any other film, but I just re-watched it recently after about a 15 year gap of having no seen it and I was hit with huge wave of nostalgia, every line and song and movement was familiar. I thought it was just me of course as I am sometimes told that I have a very esoteric taste in... everything, but after browsing through some forums I discovered that almost everyone who watched this film when they were younger loved it intensely and it has affected them in someway or another. And as I re-watched it I'd have to say that I agree with the sentiment.
The story is a familiar one. A poor boy and his mother live in a little shack of a house trying to make ends meet when one day their cow stops giving milk. The mother sends the boy, Jack, to the market to get a decent price for it. On the way to the market however, the boy is intercepted by a man playing weird piano (the note from which I can always remember so clearly as they were so queer), who convinces him to take a handful of magic beans in exchange for the cow. His mother is furious and throws the beans out the window, and after disciplining Jack, goes to bed. In the night the beanstalk grows and a little mouse comes running down it. The mouse motions to Jack's dog of trouble up the beanstalk and Jack comes out of the house marvelling at what had grown in his backyard. Jack, his dog, and the mouse all climb up the beanstalk. When they get to the top they come out of an old well in the courtyard of a castle and see this girl standing there watching them with an oddly vacant expression. She is the princess of castle and she tells Jack of the joy she will have when she marries her beloved prince Tulip. Jack soon discovers that Tulip is a giant and that his mother is an evil witch who is trying become queen by enchanting the princess to want to marry her son. Jack then faces the dilemma of whether or not to help the princess or leave with his gold.
I enjoyed the characters a lot, but what I like about it is there are two stories going on at the same time, one involving people and one with animals. Jack can't understand what any of the animals say and he doesn't even pay much attention to them most of the time because he's busy with his own plot line and agenda, but there are animals throughout the movie and the all have very vibrant personalities. Even the audience can't understand what they're saying, but through movements and expressions you can tell what they're trying to say. A lot of story lines with both people and animals bridge the gap between them and let them talk to each other or let the audience understand them if the people in the film don't. The animals in this film actually have their own sub-plot.
The music in this movie is captivating. It's not an award-winning score by any means, but there is just something odd about it that catches at one's interest. It's not quite unsettling, but it doesn't fade into the background either. The music is definitely one of the aspect that will draw you into the film to make you love it. The characters are good and the plot is very interesting, but the music is what will get you. The artwork too. There's just something about the movements of the characters and the setting, especially in the castle.
As I said, this isn't the best movie I've ever seen, nor is it even the best Jack and the Beanstalk story I've heard. Despite that, this is the kind of film that you'll remember after you've grown up. I don't know what exactly it is about it, but I do know that I enjoy watching it and will probably try to obtain it at some point on dvd.
This was one of the most well-crafted, imaginative, adventurous, addicting show's I've seen in a long time. It's so well put together and the world they've created is such a fascinating place.
The story takes place in a world where certain groups of people are connected to or have an affinity with a certain element. There are 4 nations all together; fire, water, earth, and air. Some people in these four nations have a special ability to manipulate the element their nation is associated with and these people are called benders. A person can only bend one element, but there is one person called the Avatar who can bend all four elements. The Avatar is reborn into each of the nations in the order of earth, fire, air, water. On the year the avatar is born into the air nation however, he disappears and the fire nation attacks the rest of the world to expand their empire dramatically. For 100 years the avatar is nowhere to be seen until one day two adolescents from the water nation come upon something in the ice. When the girl, Katara, breaks it apart a small boy emerges from the ice with a large flying bison, the boy is the avatar. After a run in with a fire nation raid, wherein we meet the prince of the fire nation, Zuko, the two water nation kids, Saka and Katara, go with the avatar to help him learn the four elements and become a fully realized avatar. This isn't as easy as it seems however. The fire nation has become a wide-spread terror and they are looking for the avatar to kill him. They have wiped out the entire air nation in hopes of killing the avatar, but missed Aang as he was buried in an ice block. The three go around world inspiring hope in those who have lost it, and becoming stronger as they learn more about themselves and the people they come across. There are three seasons in total; Book One: Water, Book Two: Earth, Book Three: Fire, and with each season Aang works on learning a new element and someone joins the group.
I think this series is so successful because there is real danger. I've read that the creators were fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and that definitely shows, not because the story line imitates those stories, because it doesn't, but because there is a definite and real danger that follows Aang and gang (sorry I had to) around. There is the possibility that their enemies will catch up with them and if that happens, the avatar will never become fully realized and the fire nation will terrorize and enslave the rest of the world forever. The entire world is resting on their shoulders. And yet it isn't too serious or depressing. There are several really funny scenes and for the most part the series is very up beat.
The character development is great also. At the beginning of the series Aang is so carefree and fun-loving, Saka is so cautious and prejudiced, and they remain that way for the entire series but as more and more things happen to them we see them mature. They still keep their vitality and energy, Aang is always optimistic and Saka, though he's the comic relief, is always something of a buzz kill, but they grow from their experiences and become a little bit wiser with each encounter. The same thing with Katara, but her transformation isn't as apparent. In the entire series, she is the character that is the beacon of hope for all whom she meets. She always believes that any situation is possible and that the world will be saved and that all people are or can be essentially good. Many instances in the series she stops the journey to help someone who has lost hope or who is being taken advantage or abused, despite the rest of the group's urgings to push on. Their adventure began by Katara first breaking Aang out of the ice and then insisting on journeying with him. She's more practical and almost motherly compared the other characters, but she is also the gutsiest of the group and is most likely to do what is right no matter the consequences. She is also a very strong female character, which is hard to find many tv shows, for both kids and adults. If there is action the woman is either wilting and useless or hard-hearted and ruthless. There is rarely a female character that displays a quiet strength in the way Katara does. She's one of my favourite characters. Toph, a character in the later seasons, has just as much inner strength as Katara, but again displays that differently. She is a little more rough around the edges, and is blind, which I thought was great because blind people are rarely main characters, and if they are their blindness is most often seen as a weakness or a crutch. But many times Toph's blindness is a strength, as she has used that handicap to heighten other senses. Many times I forgot that she was blind. She also grows immensely, more emotionally than anything else.
The animation is good, if somewhat childish. Basically the animation is presumably targeting an elementary aged audience, and the content is appropriate for that level. However this somewhat underplays the show's potential for an older audience. Many people I've spoken to have heard of the show, but haven't watched it because it looked like a kid's show, which of course it is, but then again so is Harry Potter and that has a world-wide audience of all ages. The characters are rich and multi-faceted. I won't go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but the characters' growth as well as characters' break downs are very well done. Also, the ways the creators thought of using the bending was really ingenious and well thought out. My favourite example of this I cannot tell you, because if you're watching the show and think as I do, when you discover that part it will blow you mind with awesome a little bit. For those who have seen the show it's the part in the third season when Katara meets that old woman. This may just be my inner nerd breaking free, but it's pretty cool to say the least. So bottom line, if you haven't seen this show you should. It has adventure, romance, heart-break, combat, political intrigue, and magic. A little bit of something for everyone.
This anime is beautiful to look at. That is the first thing I will say about it because I'm sure that that is the first thing you will notice about it, and is what will probably keep you watching for the first half.
Last Exile is a story about two orphans, Claus and Lavie, who make a living as couriers. In the land they live in, people move around in the sky more than they do water or land, and the two fly an aircraft known as a vanship. All is normal in their lives until one day, during a vanship race in their home town (think star wars), a foreign vanship cuts off their path and crashes into the forest below. Claus, the pilot, decides that they should go down to make sure the people in the vanship were all right. When they get there they see that the pilot has been shot, but is still alive, and there is a dead person in the back seat holding a small sleeping girl. The pilot tells them that an enemy faction, The Guild, is after this young girl and asks the two to see his mission through to the end and escort the girl to safety. The Guild is an advanced race of people who have superior technology and almost silently rule the people below them. Of course the pair accept the mission and take the girl. This leads the two to eventually come on board a ship called the Silvana and on that ship, they will face wars with others and ultimately battle The Guild's control over them by attempting to prevent their awakening of a powerful and unknown entity known as 'exile'.
The first half of this anime bored me to tears. I'd heard so many rave reviews I couldn't believe that it could possibly be as bad as I initially perceived it to be... so forced myself to watch episode after episode. The beginning is king of pointless and disorienting. We see Claus and Lavie living life as usual, doing a mission or two, fighting in a race, but there was nothing that really drew me into the plot or care about the characters until around the twelfth episode. The story up until that point was kind of like the middle of an anime... boring and just filling up space. And at that point the audience doesn't have enough emotional history with the characters to care. I was so bored I spent more of the time picking out character flaws. Lavie is completely useless for most of the series. This is actually stated in the show by one of the other characters. For a majority of the first half of the show all she does is whine and yell. She continues to do this in the second half, but not as much because she is not in as many episodes. I felt that they could have done so much more with her character, there was so much potential there.
The show was not all bad though. As I said, the second half was much better than the first and I would say that the ending makes up for the pain of having the watch the build up. The flashbacks helped, as did the actual purpose given to the character's existence. The war inspired many emotional and political problems for the characters, and the characters were a defined a little bit better for the viewer. The Guild reminded me of the blue giants in the animated film Fantastic Planet, for those who have seen the film, both in how they acted and how they treated the people. The end of the anime was the very best part for me. I don't know why exactly, but as I watched Claus and Lavie flying over that field with Claus' overtone and the music in the background, I got this nostalgic sort of feeling. Kind of like the feeling I get after watching a Miazaki film, a feeling of endless possibility... but I have no idea how as I don't think I liked the show that much to have developed such feelings about it's final moments. But it is as it is I suppose.
The animation in this anime is absolutely stunning. It is one of the most beautiful animes I've seen artistically speaking. In regards to the scenery anyway. One of the funny things about this anime is that even though the landscape is so well drawn.. for some reason the characters can look very amateurishly drawn at times. There will be a stunning scene with some sort of aircraft or landscape or room and is so amazing that it will have you sighing in awe, but two seconds later there will be a scene with one of the characters positioned awkwardly or drawn with an arm or leg too skinny. Just in general I feel that the artists put so much effort into the world the story takes place in that they sort of just drew the characters in last-minute like 'oh ya this story actually revolves around people... we should draw some'. Claus and Lavie we see the most of because the show is about them, and Claus I'm fine with, I feel that his look suits the artwork surrounding him. Lavie, on the other hand, I do not like one bit. There is so little detail in her features that her face is literally a circle with huge 'anime eyes' and a big mouth. While the other characters are drawn seriously, like the characters of a drama, Lavie is drawn like the heroine of a high school romantic comedy... you expect her to go chibi any second. And since this is not a romantic comedy, and Lavie does not even serve as a comic relief in this story, her look is completely out of place and always takes me out of the whimsical mood the scenery has so beautifully created for me. Most of the other characters could also be drawn better, but Lavie is where they so obviously slacked or guessed wrong... I'm not sure which. And her haircut doesn't help.
I have mixed feelings about the anime, but for each negative point I have, there is a positive one to combat it. Overall I would say that it is indeed worth the watch, and you will probably enjoy it immensely at some point. The question is how much are you willing to put up with to find what you might intensely like?
I have seen this anime around but my impression of it was that it would be one of those vacuous 'cute for the sake of cute' animes about nothing in particular and the most the creator wanted me to take away from it was that 'OMG THAT WAS THE CUTEST EVER WASN'T THAT SO CUTE'. So naturally I stayed away. Despite what I thought initially however, this was actually a good story and yes, it is cute, but not cute for the sake of cuteness.
The story begins with an industrious young girl named Saga. Saga lives with her grandmother and has her life planned down to the minute. She doesn't like disorganization and even makes plans and decisions for her friends. This all starts to unravel, however, when Saga comes across a tiny fairy who almost passes out from hunger. Saga gives her a waffle to eat and the fairy follows her home. At first Saga dislikes the attention and is constantly trying to ignore or get away from Sugar, the fairy. Eventually though, the two become good friends and Saga becomes important to Sugar's mission.
Sugar is a snow fairy. Fairies control to weather, there are fairies who control wind, rain, sun, the clouds, etc. and Sugar controls snow, or will after her training period. Sugar is an apprentice fairy and she, along with other apprentice fairies, must spend time on earth to find 'twinkles'. Each fairy must find a 'twinkle' to make their own magic flower bloom, and only then can they become a full-fledged season fairy. Many of the episodes focus on the fairies trying to find these twinkles.
This show is not only for fairy lovers, there is also a a very strong musical theme. The fairies control their weather specialization with a musical instrument, and Saga herself loves the piano and plays often throughout the series. Music itself doesn't play as big a role as the love of instruments and the hold they may have on our memories.
The characters grow immensely in this series. Saga is not the up-tight girl who clung to a schedule. After she meets Sugar, Saga slowly is forced to loosen up a bit. Normally, people can't see season fairies so they fly out in the open and are invisible to people, but Saga is an exception and can see them. This poses a problem for her because not only do her schedules come under attack, but she is talking to and interacting with things no one but her can see. Over time though, Saga makes room for life to happen and doesn't cling so tightly to her schedule. Both Saga and Sugar experience trials, both individually and together and both grow a little bit from each hardship they face. It's kind of like fruits basket in that it's a sweet story on the surface, but it has a hidden depth to it, it's not as deep or intricate as fruits basket but it does have that double layer of surprising substance even though the characters are so cute.
This movie was a lot more abstract than I was expecting. Its very short, only half an hour long, so the story can't be developed in any great length, but the film went ahead with the characters emotionally without giving the audience some kind of back story to help them catch up. Basically, if you want to relate to this movie you'll have to do a lot of the work yourself, which isn't necessarily a negative, but it's not what I was expecting and it wasn't done well enough to make me forget that that wasn't what I was expecting.
The story follows two high school aged sweethearts, Mikako and Noboru, who were separated at the beginning of high school because Mikako accepts a mission to fly a mecha man across the solar system to fight aliens on a distant planet (which is interesteing to consider in a gender role sense because most of the time is it the guy who goes away to war or to explore and the girl stays home to wait). As she flies further and further away she tries to text Noboru and the more she travels the more years it will take to reach him. She finally reaches a faraway planet that is 8 light years away from earth and she sends a text, by the time he gets the text he's moved on with his life but they both say that they regret not having lived with each other.
I found that I couldn't really connect with the characters very well, Mikako was curled up in a ball crying all the time, even when she was fighting aliens. Noboru was distant and cool and when the time came, gave up on the supposed love of his life way too easily for the audience to believe that he cared at all in the first place. There are very few flashbacks, but the ones provided show them talking casually as friends or hanging out and were not really emotionally charged enough to set up Mikako's constant tears (which is why I said that you would have to do a lot of the emotional leg work by yourself, in your own head, because its not in the film).
Aside from the plot though, the art was beautiful. The drawing of the characters were not to my taste, but the scenery was stunning. Really beautiful artwork. I believe this was done almost wholly by one artist, which is amazing.
Pazu is an orphan who works for the owner of a mine and one night after everyone has left he sees something falling from the sky. He runs up to a platform and sees that it's a young girl floating down from the heavens. Just as he tentatively reaches out to catch her, almost as if she weren't real, she stops floating and falls heavily into his arms, almost knocking him off the platform himself. The girl's name is Sheeta and she is on the run from the leader of an organization who wants to get his hands on a crystal Sheeta got from her grandmother and keeps on a necklace. Pazu decides that he'll help Sheeta escape both the man and an unruly gang of pirates who are also after the crystal. This back and forth chase leads everyone to a mythical castle in the sky. Pazu's father got lost in a storm surrounding the island and Pazu has been preparing to go find the floating castle that his father was searching for. The crystal has great power that can be deadly, and has a connection with this mystical castle in the sky. Will the bad guys get their hands on this potentially deadly power? And if they do, is there anything Pazu and Sheeta can do to prevent a most certain disaster?!
This is a wonderful film. There is action, adventure, romance, and suspense. It's both whimsical and grounded at the same time. The movie is about a dream of a floating castle, but that fantasy and whimsy is brought down to earth by greed and power. The characters are wonderful and I enjoyed the dynamic between Sheeta and Pazu. A wonderful film for all ages.
I came across this short but powerful film after watching the movie sea prince and fire child
***Spoilers below***
The story is about a young lamb named Chirin who lived with his mother and their herd in a meadow. Chirin was more energetic than all the other lambs put together and wore a bell around his neck so that his mother could find him if he wandered too far while playing. All is good in Chirin's life until one night when the wolf king comes down from his mountain and attacks the sheep in their little hut. He starts attacking one or two of the sheep and then sees Chirin and charges for him, but before the wolf can eat him, Chirin's mother throws herself on Chirin and sacrifices herself for her baby. When Chirin is able to struggle out from under his mother the wolf has gone and he finds that his mother is dead, so he leaves the meadow to find the wolf on the mountain and get revenge. When he climbs the mountain and finds the wolf he tries charging him, yelling that he killed his mother, but the wolf doesn't give him the time of day and flicks him down the side of a small drop with his tail, knocking Chirin out. When he wakes up he goes again to find the wolf, but this time tells the wolf that he wants to be his apprentice. sheep are weak and they hide instead of fighting, but wolves are strong. The wolf laughs him off and Chirin goes off to prove himself as a wolf by trying to scare buffalo, a skunk, and a couple of ground hogs or something, but instead of scaring them they just laugh and end up pushing him around instead. Chirin returns to the wolf defeated and then decides to follow the wolf around. The wolf ends up giving in and trains Chirin to live the hard and lonely life of a wolf. After much time has past and Chirin has grown into an adult ram, the wolf decides it is time to attack the sheep in the meadow again, this time with Chirin. Chirin barges into the little shack and the sheep are scrambling around everywhere to hide. One little lamb calls for his mother and she runs to him and shields him with her body, like Chirin's mother did so long ago. This strikes a chord in him and he runs out of the hut. The wolf comes to meet him and tells him not to run away. Chirin doesn't want to wolf to kill anymore sheep so he and the wolf fight and chirin ends up killing him. Then Chirin leaves, more alone and heartsick than ever before, never to be seen or heard from again.
***End spoilers***
This movie touched a chord in me, I think it would in almost anyone. When you first start watching it it seems like it will be a really fluffy vacuous movie that you'll forget 10 minutes after watching it. Instead, it's almost a testament to those who have loved and lost and then let the pain of that loss lead them down a darker road. I know that it doesn't seem like a movie for children, but I think that the way this was handled is appropriate for a children's film. There is no blood or gore, it just deals with serious issues instead of happily ever afters and the vacuous fluff we've become used to. This was made in the 70's so what's deemed appropriate now and what was then has obviously changed, but I think that films like this should be seen by children. Life is not always going to be happy, not everyone you meet will be happy, and sometimes you will be in bad situations.
The character in this film makes a choice to isolate himself and to be mean, like the wolf who killed his mom, but the way the movie ends leaves the viewer feeling his sadness and his dissatisfaction with his own life. It doesn't tell the child what should be done in a sad situation, but lets the viewer make their own decision. I actually loved it when I first saw it (as an adult) because it didn't have that happy, Disney ending. I mean I love happy endings, but our society has really sucked everything out of the 'happily ever after' idea, so much so that a happy ending seems almost false or staged in film. In almost every film you know that the characters will all be happy at the end of the movie, even if they don't end up getting the guy/girl, they are happy with their lives. This often leads to young kids who grow up having to find out that life isn't a happily ever after. There will be bad things that happen and you won't always get the guy/ girl. In fact, romance may not even be the focal point of your happiness, shocking an idea as that is. This movie had an unsatisfied character and left the viewer with something to think about. Chirin's struggle will stay with you after the credits. It definitely leaves an impression on the viewer. Now, whether or not you want to expose your child to the fact that everything is not happy in the world and that the choices you make will effect you in some way or another is up to the parent, but this is definitely a children's film. It's deeper than it seems on the surface and gives a child something to think about. Great film.
I love faeries, and anime, and this is the perfect combination of both. Alright, there are definitely some flaws in the movie. The colours are kind of faded, the bad guy is cheesy, and as is typical of 80's cartoons the girl just whines instead of doing something, among other things. My mind was telling me this as I was watching... but a stronger voice drowned that one out and was wishing I'd seen this movie when I was five years old. I would have loved it then. I still appreciate it now, but there's something about a child's perception that makes magic come alive and this story is full of magic.
It's about the son of the sea king and the daughter of the fire queen. As legend has it, the king and queen are siblings and were very close and always together. The wind saw this, became jealous of their happiness and told lies to each of them making them distrust the other. They quarreled and the fire queen went to live in the sky and the sea god the sea, and the wind was banished to the depths of the sea and his eye was removed. One day the prince of the sea goes to a forbidden place and sees the fire child watching over the eternal flame. He comes back the next day and they fall in love, and from there they try to find a way to make their impossible love work.
One of the things I love about anime is that it's not disnified. Obviously. What I mean by that is that a romanticized ideal is achieved, but not without cost. There isn't a false message that you can have your cake and eat it too. You should strive to achieve your desires, but you have to know that there may be a price to pay. This isn't ominous by any means, don't take it the wrong way, the movie isn't sinister and won't worry a child. The moral isn't that bad will always come from getting something you want, but more that sometimes you have to choose between two things you might like and if you choose one you might mourn the loss of the other, even though the choice you made was the best one and is what will make you the happiest. This isn't always the message in main stream films. Most of the time the idea expressed is that you go through a tough phase, but then by making the right choices all goes well in your life, happily ever after, without regret or pain or thoughts of what if. The story end with the idea that the couple will always be happy in their paradise, but in real life situations life isn't so black and white, and it's refreshing to see films reflect this every now and again, especially films for children.
The fire people are all faeries, and all except for the fire queen have a sprite-like appearance. The prince is human looking, but very lanky, and all of his subjects are fish (so both boys and girls will watch). It was a great film full of fantasy, adventure, whimsy, and romance. Great film.
I'd heard of this movie and seen it around on and off for several years, but the clips I'd seen and the description turned me off, so I didn't watch it despite having heard good things about it. After seeing it however, I don't know why I waited so long! The movie is about two guys who want to interview a famous actress for the documentary they're doing on her life. Clips of the movies she has been in are featured throughout the film to tell the story of her love for a man she doesn't really know. This sounded extremely boring to me. The pacing of the movie isn't fast and exciting either, but more of a slower building up to the climax, so if one were to fast forward through to see segments of various scenes... well it just looked boring. But, the movie is actually really good.
First of all, the art is amazing. A lot of attention paid to detail and it's a pleasure to watch purely from an artistic perspective.
So the story is about two guys who interview a famous actress about her life, and she tells this story through movies she's been in. Basically when she was young she met a wounded rebel in the streets and hides him from the police for a night. When she goes to see him in the morning he's gone, but he left a picture of her that he drew saying something like 'until next time'. So she sort of falls for this man and then obsesses over him for the rest of her life. She gets an offer to be an actress and accepts because the job she was offered took her to where the guys escaped to. So we find out that her success as an actress stems from her desire to find this guy. And this sounds superficial and weak as a motivation to do something with your life, kind of playing off the stereotype that a woman needs a man to complete herself, which is why I like this movie so much. When a typical North Amercian thinks of Japanese culture, or for some people Asian culture in general, they think of the stereotypes of weak- willed, submissive women because of how the media portrays them and such, but this movie subtly twists that stereotype on its head. The girl spends her entire life chasing after this guy and during many parts in the movie I wondered why she doesn't just give up on the guy and live her life for herself. At the end of the movie though ... I guess spoiler alert, but if I'd known this sooner I'd have watched it sooner... she tells the interviewer that it didn't matter to her if she ever actually caught up with the guy. In fact if she did catch him she would probably get bored of him because it was the chasing that she lived for. And this is like anything in life. If you chase a man or a job or even an ideology of some kind, the journey is the important thing, meaning that she is in fact living for herself, even though from a supercifical or incomplete understanding of her situation, it seems to be otherwise. That made the movie for me. So I liked it.
