I doubt that anyone will be surprised by the presence of Silent Möbius: The Motion Picture (1991) & Silent Möbius: The Motion Picture 2 (1992) in this series of reviews. [1]

( It's not really cheating to review these together... )

There's an Osamu Tezuka movie Space Firebird 2772 that was a 50/50 for inclusion when all I had was a dubbed VHS release.
I now have a local, subtitled, DVD release...

There are several ways to set up a movie for an anime series. There is a summary of the basic plot ( Galaxy Express 999) [1], a direct sequel ( Summer's Beginning) [2], a slightly alternate universe to avoid messing up continuity too badly ( Naruto Shippuden, and possibly Ah! My GoddessAnd then there's the "continuity? what continuity?" school of ( Read more... )

Summer Wars is a much more impressive film the second time you see it. Which is saying a lot given that it was also pretty good the first time around. I'm not going to go into too much detail about the plot: this is a relatively recent film so I think I should limit the spoilers if possible.

( Not spoiling it also allows me to avoid a rant or two... )

Oh (or Ah, depending on who's translating it today)! My Goddess is the ultimate example of the Magical Girlfriend genre, and possibly the most enduring. The manga that started in 1988 is apparently still running.

When I look at the movie it isn't hard to see why.

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Howl's Moving Castle is something of an odd bird amongst the Hayao Miyazaki flock, and a surprisingly difficult film to write about. This more a general ramble than a formal review.

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Lupin III is an enduring franchise in Japan from the pen of Monkey Punch. The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) is the second movie in the franchise, and the first feature film directed by Miyazaki Hayao.

I wanted to include The Castle of Cagliostro as it showcases Miyazaki's distinctive style within the limits of a franchise centred on a thief (albeit ( Read more... )

There are few, if any, other female comic artists who have succeeded on the scale of Takahashi Rumiko. And Urusei Yatsura ("Those Obnoxious Aliens") is where it all began.

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Some of the movies for the twenty days of animé movies posts are completely new to me. This has already produced mixed results, and may well do so again.

Also the list is not finalised so suggestions are still welcomed in this post or over here. Particularly if you have a strong preference for a given Miyazaki or other Studio Ghibli...

It would appear that as time goes by Katsuhiro Otomo hasn't gotten any less pompous or any more comprehensible.

( Pity... )