Yes, this is yet another movie set in the universe of the amazingly popular 1970’s classic anime series: “Captain Harlock”. Further more it’s the sequel to the original Galaxy Express 999 (just in case any of you are wondering, “Adieu” is a French word meaning more or less “so long”).
Katsuhiro Otomo brings his graphic novel to life in his 1988 landmark animated film, Akira. Akira tells the story of two friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda. After a military helicopter kidnaps Tetsuo, Kaneda must fight through the lies and false facets in order to find and save his friend. Akira set the standard for Japanese animation and some current films are still below it. A warning: Akira is not for the timid; it features hidden symbolism, a bizarre storyline, and graphic situations.
The first volume of Arjuna starts off rather timid, but slowly becomes more and more contradictory. Juna and her somewhat boyfriend, Tokio, get into a motorcycle accident. Tokio is in decent shape, albeit a few cuts and bruises, but Juna’s fate is something else. Juna is dead and her spirit is in limbo. Along comes a young boy named Chris who will save her life if she purges the planet of the wormlike creatures known as the Raaja. Juna makes the choice to live and fight and is immediately whisked away by helicopter. After having a special stone encrusted on her forehead, Juna is told to save a power plant.
The first disc of Arjuna was one of the freshest and most creative anime I had seen in a while. It was with this motivation that I plunged into the second disc. What I saw was something entirely different from the first few episodes.
The third DVD of Arjuna picks up right after the events of the second. Chris is out of danger for the time being, giving Juna more time to focus on her relationship with Tokio. The two previous discs covered humanity’s handling of nature while the third disc sets its focus on the relationship humans have with each other, making it much more personal. Juna and Tokio are explored, as well as Tokio’s relationship with his father. Juna sees visual representations of relationships and words and she explains to the viewers what she is seeing.
The first time I saw Berserk was about a year ago at a friend’s house. He told me I should come over and check it out. At the time, I had other things on my mind, so I didn’t really concentrate on the show and I never got into it. In fact, I remember not liking it at all. Just the other day I saw a trailer for it and decided to give it another chance. I don’t know what I was thinking a year ago, but I love Berserk now.
When production for Blood The Last Vampire started, its team had one goal on their mind: Create a new standard and style of animation for all future projects. Through the use of Photoshop and other current technology, the production team hoped to raise the bar on Japanese animation. Instead have having smoothly drawn lines, as is tradition in anime, the team had the artists draw rough, sketch-like lines. When the project was nearing completion, the team had to scrap everything. Artists were smoothing their lines, and the team felt it was too traditional. Work on Blood started all over again. When Blood The Last Vampire was finally released, it won the prestigious “Best Theatrical Feature Film” at the 2001 World Animation Celebration.
Cowboy Bebop follows the story of four bounty hunters on their quest for money and food. Spike, Jet, Faye and Edward chase every bounty they can in an effort to survive. I’m not going to go into the plot much more than that because everyone should have seen the series by now. If not, I have the full series coverage available here.
The latest creation from Bebop creator Hajime Yadate. His goal was to create one last adventure with the entire Bebop clan before they go their separate ways. The movie takes place between episodes 22 and 23, just before the aforementioned takes place. The development team remains the same, with the exception of Junichi Higashi being replaced with Atsushi Morikawa, and set designer Hiroshi Takeuchi taking over for Isamu Imakake. Although Heaven’s Door take place on the always-popular planet of Mars, the visuals look different from anything seen in the series. Two new staff members, along with a trip to Morocco are the cause for this surprisingly new take on Bebop.
Cyber Team in Akihabara opens with Hibari Hanakoganei, a rambunctious little girl that just graduated from elementary school. To celebrate her graduation Hibari tells her parents that she wants a Pata-Pi, a tamagotchi-like toy. After being denied her precious mascot, Hibari is told by a perverted old man that her “sweet prince” from her dreams is just over a nearby hill. Hibari runs to the hill to greet her prince, only to find nothing at all. Suddenly, a little Pata-Pi falls from the sky and lands right in the arms of Hibari.
Gasaraki starts off like any normal mecha anime. A nice little action sequence that shows off the main attraction: Mechas. Planned by Sunrise (Cowboy Bebop) and the original story by Hajime Yatate (Cowboy Bebop), one can already assume that Gasaraki will be a hit. As far as story is concerned, Gasaraki is a hit.
Originally released in Japan in 1988, Grave of the Fireflies tells the story of two siblings orphaned after an air raid on their village. Seita, the proud brother, and Setsuko, the innocent little sister, are forced to find shelter with relatives. The opening scene is a realistic presentation of just how dire their situation is. Throughout the movie, air raids continue nonstop. No matter what Seita and Setsuko are doing, an air raid is never far behind. Both siblings are helpless and trapped, unable to find other relatives or forms of shelter.
Haibane Renmei was one of those animes that slipped through the cracks. I had heard the name before, but never took the time to read what the story was, who wrote it or which American company planned on picking up the rights for it. I would have completely missed the DVD if it hadn’t of had a display of its own near the entrance. Being the anime fan I am, I picked the DVD up on my way in. The cover was very attractive and was what caught my eye in the first place. The cover had artwork from Akira Takada and looked to be in the style of Serial Experiments Lain. I later found that Yoshitoshi ABe, the creator behind Lain also created Haibane Renmei.
Metropolis was meant to be an epic, a great project blending breathtaking animation with a masterful tale on the future of humanity. Unfortunately it faltered.
The long awaited Neon Genesis Evangelion had finally arrived! After ordering the DVD from Anime Nation, I was anxious to see what Hideki Anno had in store for me. I rip the package open and pop the disc into my computer. Anticipation can hardly be contained as the first scene begins to play. And what a great scene it is! Manga Entertainment did a superb job of localizing Death and Rebirth. No fewer than three voices are translated in the opening dialogue, and all are being spoken at the same time. Emotions run wild as an angel of light graces the screen and detonates Second Impact. What a great start to the movie.
The End of Evangelion. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This movie has been seen by hundreds of thousands of anime lovers, it has been written about on almost every Internet site out there and has worked its way into the printed press. Whether you love it, or hate it, you know all about The End of Evangelion. Is this movie the work of a genius, or is it the clever rambling of a man with mental instability?
The story of Petite Princess Yucie follows Lady Yucie, a 17-year-old girl cursed to have a body that hasn’t aged since she turned 10. During a strange meeting with Queen Ercell, Yucie becomes a petite princess candidate. A petite princess comes around once every 1,000 years. Yucie is told that if she becomes the petite princess she will be given the Eternal Tiara, capable of granting any wish to its wearer. What a fortunate event for Yucie! If she works hard enough, Yucie can obtain the tiara, wish herself a normal body and finally marry the prince of her dreams. However, winning the tiara would not be a challenge if it weren’t for competition.
Demons, forests, and spirits are all common in Princess Mononoke. Studio Ghibli included all of these things in their 1997 featured animation release. Miramax re-recorded the movie with world famous actors. However, the voice acting is not world class. Of all the actors, Billy Bob Thorton is the only one that face plants when it comes to acting. His monk character seems forced and boring, both of which detract from an otherwise excellent ensemble of actors and acting. This is the only weak part of Princess Mononoke.
When I first picked up Read Or Die, I was reluctant. I had noticed that its distributor was Manga Entertainment. Considering Manga’s previous attempts at producing/distributing anime I figured this DVD would not fare well. I went against my instinct and purchased the DVD for the sole reason of brevity; the series is only three episodes long, thus, not enough time for Manga to muck it up.
The first thing that came to my mind when watching The Record Of Lodoss War was Tolkien: J.R.R. Tolkien to be exact. The six companions in Lodoss very much reminded me of the Ring Bearer and his companions (although they originally had nine). The two stories share an elf, a dwarf, a knight (or ranger), and a wizard. I’m not implying that Lodoss borrowed ideas from Tolkien, but I will say that anyone who enjoyed Lord Of The Rings will enjoy The Record Of Lodoss War. Before I got too off-topic, I’ll move on to the bulk of the review.
On my last trip to the video store, I came across Reign: The Conqueror. The box art was sharp and vibrant; overall, it looked very nice. I got home and tore off the three security devices to take a look at what I had found. The first sign of trouble: Was that a man or a woman on the cover? I brushed it off and pushed “play” on the remote.
When a young girl is forced to move to the middle of nowhere, happiness cannot be expected. Chihiro is the name of this young girl who is forced to move to rural Japan. While driving to their new home Chihiro’s father takes a wrong turn, leading them to an old abandoned amusement park. When night falls, a spell is cast onto Chihiro’s parents and Chihiro is thrust into the spirit world. Now a young girl must face her fears, traverse the spirit world and reunite herself with her parents.
Spriggan is Director Hirotsugu Kawasaki’s first outing in the full length feature genre. Even though Kawasaki was backed by famed Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo, Spriggan was not an easy task. With a manga that debuted in Shonen Sunday and had a huge following, Kawasaki had the daunting task of creating a film that was equally excellent.
I had read quite a few reviews of Those Who Hunt Elves when I finally decided to get the DVD. Thank god for that or I wouldn’t have understood anything through the whole first episode, in fact I made sure three times that it was indeed the first episode and not the sixth. It was and it really does start right in the middle of the story.
We meet up once again with Airi, Junpei, Ritsuko and Celcia for the conclusion of their wild adventures. The last six episodes of Those Who Hunt Elves are just about the same as the first six. In fact, I was a little afraid that the whole thing would eventually get so repetitive and predictable that I would be forced to abandon the series. Fortunately a few choice episodes secured my attention while making sure the fun levels stay up.
In the distant future, Vampires are a dying breed. With dwindling numbers, one vampire - Meier Link - sets out to capture a human girl named Charlotte Elbourne. A distressed father hires two teams of vampire hunters in an effort to get back his daughter. A hunter named D responds and decides to re-capture the girl for 20 million dollars. One other team, The Markus Brothers, was also hired and has a head start. Bloodlust picks up approximately 5000 years after the original Vampire Hunter D. It follows Dunpeal, one who is half man and half vampire. In Bloodlust, we are given some insight into the world of Dunpeal. The viewer finds that there is more than one D. Any vampire that reproduces with a human creates a Dunpeal. This is Meier’s intention when he kidnaps Charlotte Elbourne. D knows this and may have affections towards stopping the creation of another.
Having never previously seen anything Escaflowne related, both TV and movie wise, I was not sure what to expect from the movie. What I saw was something real, but also something fantastic. I saw two wars being fought at the same time; a war of emotions and a war of worlds. Hitomi is a normal girl suffering from depression. She pushes her friends away, but feels lonely without them. Van is an extraordinary warrior. He wants peace in his land, but feels he must find it alone. When Van’s fate is placed in the hands of Hitomi, both must unite and together face the evils of the world.
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