Kite
Warning: Absolutely NOT for kids! Kite is one of the nastiest, grisly
and gruesome tales ever done in anime. It explores some of the more
disturbing aspects of the human psyche. With its La
Femme Nikita-style story line, this film rivals the live-action
works of Luc
Besson and even John Woo.
That
said, the characters are flawlessly executed, with fantastic art
and animation, along with it's darkly compelling plot. Like watching
a car-crash, you just won't be able to turn away from the screen,
despite the horrors being presented. Kite is simply excellent in
every aspect.
Photon
- The Idiot Adventures
We remember when anime was stiff, and how blown away we were by Crusher
Joe when it premiered because the characters "acted" instead
of "reacted". Photon may be the first in a new revolutionary
trend in anime where the characters are actually animated in slightly
different styles to emphasize their personalities. Just as no two humans
move the same way, you'll find differences in the way the characters
look and move.
And this excruciating attention to detail isn't lost on other aspects
of this feature-packed DVD. The story, music, action, pacing, humor,
characterizations and overall direction are astounding. This is easily
one of the best titles ever produced
by AIC. There is some nudity and violence, so it's not for kids,
but it is for everyone else.
Boogiepop
Phantom -
Boxed Set (Evolutions 1-4)
Wacky, weird, different and insightful are some of the adjectives
we could use to describe this unique piece of work. But words fail
to do justice. Using a variety of film technique, director Takashi
Watanabe abandons the rollicking comedy of Slayers for
a series that meticulously feeds you little pieces of a broadening
horizon.
The goal of all this is to transfer an idea into the viewer's mind
and make them think. And when the story does unfold in your mind,
you will get a chill down your spine. It's intriguing, mysterious,
and creepy up to the very last episode. If you liked Serial
Experiments: Lain, you'll love this.
Key
the Metal Idol - Awakening
Take the concept of Pinocchio and
then totally turn it on it's ear. That's what's behind this brilliantly
insightful story of a little-girl-robot who desperately wishes to
become human. This sets the stage for a serious drama-action-adventure
with some unique social commentary on the subversive way the idol
singer industry in Japan takes advantage of young girls and exploits
them for profit (not unlike Perfect
Blue).
After
you watch it, you feel like you've had some beautiful, yet terribly
tragic dream that you can't quite remember. Dig Deep. It's "Fight
Club" for anime. Only on the 4th or 5th viewing will anything
make sense. But by then, you'll have your perception of anime altered
forever.
Winner
of the "Best Short Film" at The 6th Fantasia Film Festival
and "Excellence Prize" at Japan's Media Arts Festival,
Cat Soup features the psychedelic imagery of the late artist Nekojiru.
From the director of Nadesico,
Tatsuo Sato's Cat Soup tells the story of a little kitten, Nyaako,
who embarks on a bizarre journey with her brother Natta, to get her
soul back, which has been stolen by Death. In the surreal dreamscape
of the Other Side, they encounter many fantastic characters and embark
on various remarkable and disturbing adventures.
Central
Park Media has done a good job reworking the film with subtitles,
as the few bits of dialog in the film are done as word balloons.
Although children may enjoy it, it does contain some ghastly imagery,
so take it with a grain of salt.
Rising
Stars of Manga This book is
a result of the “Rising Stars of Manga contest” which
was sponsored by TokyoPop.
We have to admit that at first we didn’t have
much hope for a collection of manga drawn by gaijin!
However this collection had a few nice surprises, and
would be well worth adding to your comic book collection.
The volume features quite a bit of good storytelling
and artwork, and there is that special bonus of knowing
that you may be looking at the work of a future Tezuka (well
we can always hope).
Watchmen Frank
Miller's gothic graphic novel The
Dark Knight Returns may be the best selling comic
book of all time, but Alan
Moore's Watchmen is certainly the greatest. Thought-provoking,
inspired, revolutionary and very very deep, you'll
find yourself reviewing the issues brought up within
this story over and over again. Vigilantism is outlawed,
costumed characters who fight crime are weirdoes who
have "issues", and someone is wiping them
out, one by one.
Clearly, some of the salient points of story do relate more
to the time they were written for (the late 80's), but the
premise is still so compelling that the story remains solid. Dave
Gibbons' art is cinematic and detailed to the extreme.
This is the book that forever changed the way the comic book industry thought
about the art
form. Have it, read it, love it. Watchmen is it.
The
Art of Finding Nemo
If you're interested in a "real" behind-the-scenes
look at the making of a animated
movie (in this case a clever and amazing Pixar
animated movie), or are into cartoon
design, want insight into what's being done or want to
get into the field yourself, then look no further. The Art
of Finding Nemo celebrates the talent at Pixar, featuring concept
and character sketches, storyboards, and lighting studies in
a huge spectrum of media. Unlike many so-called "making
of" books, this one contains zero stills from the
final film. Instead, the reader is treated to actual making-of
art, from napkin drawings to elaborate conceptual pastels.
Osamu
Tezuka Collection (Anime Score Compilation) Having
a good clean copy of the Tetsuwan Atomu
(Astroboy)
theme makes this album worth the price
alone, but hey, we love all these classics! "Dr.
T" made so many kick-ass
shows that almost all of these will
ring a bell with you, particularly if
you are over 30 and remember Kimba the
White Lion or Princess Knight.
Anybody
who knows anything about anime at all
knows that manganokamisama didn't
just inspire the legions who followed
him, he quite literally invented the
entire genre as we understand it today.
This album brushes the tip of the iceberg
with 33 tracks of some of the more
well known theme songs to his vast
expanse of works.
Anime
Projects
John Willis has put together a great fan website which features
desktop pictures and overviews of anime series like NieA_7,
Boogiepop, and Onegai (just to name a few).