Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006: anime review

Title: Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006
Genre: sci-fi, fantasy, drama
Released date: March 4, 2006
Running Time: 120 minutes
Director:Ayumu Watanabe
Comment: I’d known Doraemon for as long as I could remember. He was big part of my childhood as a friend, escape and inspiration. The Doraemon movies were made every year since 1980 and I loved them all. Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 was actually a remake of the first movie. It follwed Nobita, Doraemon and friends on their quest to bring Pesuke the dinosaur home and save it from the hunters. What I like most about this movie was that the director knew that he was remaking one of the most loved Doraemon films. This version followed the original very closely and was able to preserved the magic of the Doraemon franchise. There were some good changes made in this remake. The most obvious was the animation which was lively, colorful and, thankfully, was in beautiful 2D not in lifeless 3D. The scene in which Nobita and friends flew across great ancient landscape was simply breathtaking. I felt like I’d just walked out from some dark basement into the open field with cool breeze and sunny sky. The houses and the neighborhood in the movie had more modern looks. Environmentalism was also added to the movie in the scene showing the villain’s ship left its waste and fuel on the ground causing contamination. There were also a few things I didn’t like about this movie. The joke about Giant’s singing that attracted the T-Rex was missing. The ending sequence, though visually stunning, was somewhat incoherent and confusing.

The original movie could not be outdone but this remake cleverly kept most of the good parts from the original and successfully breathed new life into the franchise with refreshing animation and many nice new additions. This new Doraemon was still the old friend I’d known and loved for so long and it was always good to see him again.
Rating: B+

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Paranoia Agent: anime review

Title: Paranoia Agent
Genre: suspense, mystery, horror, comedy
Released date: 2 February 2004 – 18 May 2004
Episode: 13
Director: Satoshi Kon
Comment: Again Satoshi Kon amazed me on how he told simple story in a very interesting way. While watching Paranoia Agent, the viewers would always wonder if the events were real or just someone’s fantasy. The main plot was about a series of street assaults by the mysterious boy wielding baseball bat (people called him Shonen Bat). Initially, the attacks had no obvious pattern but when the number of victims increased, it seemed like all of the victims were feeling desperate when they were attacked. Each episode was unique in many ways; different main character, different mood, different style of story telling but all of them were cleverly related to the Shonen Bat. The direction and the screenplay were wonderful and imaginative with hidden social comments and psychological issues. The animation was colorful. After watching the series I had a mixed feeling of wonder, thrill, shock and great admiration for Satoshi Kon for his wild imagination and ideas. Conclusion: another must see anime.
Rating: A

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RahXephon: anime review

Title: RahXephon
Genre: mecha, sci-fi, drama, romance
Released date: January 2002 – September 2002
Episode: 26
Director: Yutaka Izubuchi
Animated by: Studio BONES
Comment: RahXephon had everything anyone would expect from a mecha anime; a cool looking mecha, villainous monsters, thrilling actions, secret organization with hidden agenda and psychologically complex characters including a good natured boy who was destined to save the world as the protagonist but the anime delivered them in quite unusual proportion. Except in the final battle, the mecha actions which were usually the heart of the fun was small in number and short of details as if they were put in the anime just because they should be. So all the viewers would get was Kamina Ayato, Xephon’s pilot, slashed the Dolems with his saber or shot them and all would be over. Each Dolems were hardly different and no special techniques were needed to destroy them. Instead, more attention was paid on the people in the story. Their pasts, secrets, problems, feelings and their development were slowly, artfully and patiently revealed and this was RaXephon’s best part. The most prominent example of character development was Ayato’s who had been a normal school boy then he discovered that his mother was a Mulian, that Tokyo was actually under the Mulian’s control and the world he knew was an illusion. Later, he was rescued from Tokyo-Jupitor and had to learn to fit into the new society that he never knew it existed. And that was before he found out that he was a Mulian, the enemy of everyone around him, and that he was being used by Terra because he could pilot Xephon. What a psychic trauma! Because of its lack of typical mecha action, RahXephon might not appeal to younger viewers but for more mature anime fans, the intense drama, the idea about ‘the world full of sounds’, the incredibly complex main plot and subplots that lead to a jaw-dropping truth behind the events and characters were impressive. I especially loved the subplot about Ayato and Haruka, so romantic! Conclusion: Rahxephon was another great anime series and a must see for anime fans. It got even better the second time I watched it.
Rating: A

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Blood: The Last Vampire: anime review

Title: Blood: The Last Vampire
Genre: action, horror, supernatural
Released date: November 18, 2000
Running Time: 48 minutes
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Animated by: Production I.G, Aniplex
Comment: In this very short film, Saya, the Katana wielding vampire, hunted down monsters hiding in the US Air Base. That was literally all the story of this anime. It was vaguely hinted that Saya was the last vampire and working for the US government but no further information was revealed and throughout the movie Saya appeared to be plainly cold blooded killer. Other characters simply showed up and then were gone (killed or survived). Although the anime successfully created the dark and scary atmosphere and the fights between Saya and the monsters were thrilling and fun but I felt like the movie was only the action part of another complete film and I was so frustrated when it ended so abruptly. Conclusion: This anime had good art direction and animation and had few good moments but it lacked everything else including what really mattered like a decent story and characterization.
Rating: D+

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Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion: anime review

Title: Evangelion: Death and Rebirth and The End of Evangelion

Genre: mecha, sci-fi, drama
Released date: March 15, 1997 and July 19, 1997 respectively
Running Time: 115 and 87 minutes respectively
Director: Hideaki Anno
Animated by: Gainax
Comment: Both titles were the movie spin-off of the successful NGE TV series. The first part named Death was the re-edit version of the TV series which focused on character exploration. The second part called Rebirth and The End of Evangelion was the continuation and more detailed ending of the TV series. The way Death repeated the story from the series was quite interesting for about 10 minutes but the remaining 50 minutes bored me immensely because it was mostly the same thing. Rebirth was actually the first half hour of The End of Evangelion so I’ll discuss the latter only. The first half of The End of Evangelion when SEELE attacked NERV was very disturbing with many civilians cruelly killed, gruesome EVA02 versus SEELE’s Evas action, Shinji breaking down, Asuka going berserk and many deaths of the familiar characters. Nevertheless this first half was so good, intense and thrilling that I almost forgot to breath. But the second haft was totally different because it was unnecessarily long and quite boring. It was like trying to explain what had already been explained so well. It was too much and the abrupt change of general mood and pace of the movie almost ruined the entire film. Conclusion: Despite the disappointing ending, the movie was well done in general and a must have for those who enjoy the TV series.
Rating: B

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Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series): anime review

Title: Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV series)
Genre: mecha, sci-fi, drama
Released date: October 4, 1995 – March 27, 1996
Episodes: 26
Director: Hideaki Anno
Animated by: Gainax
Comment: The larger part of the series was typical crowd pleasers such as a teenage boy, Ikari Shinji, who was involuntarily chosen to pilot the Eva01, the invading monsters (angels) with various exotic powers and many exciting action sequences. But beneath these typical things was an incredibly dark and adult theme including internal conflicts, extreme violence, death, sex and many mentally disturbing events. The minds of the characters were the most distinctive component of the show. The best example was Ikari Shinji, the main protagonist, who suffered from depression, feeling of worthlessness, lack of self confidence and fear of making friends which made it impossible to call him the hero of the series. The other characters like Asuka Langley, Ayanami Rei, Ikari Gendo, Misato or Ritsuko were also mentally sick or had some personality disorder or had been through traumatic events in the past. The psychological (e.g. the hedgehog’s dilemma, mother is the first other) and religious concepts (e.g. Adam and Eve, Lance of Longinus, Lilith, the Tree of Life) were also very interesting and induced the viewers to interpret the anime further. The animation was topnotch and the soundtrack was great partly due to the extensive use of classical music. Conclusion: Neon Genesis Evangelion was a brilliant and intriguing anime whether you take it seriously or just want to be entertained.
Rating: A

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The Place Promised in Our Early Days: anime review

Title: The Place Promised in Our Early Days
Genre: sci-fi, drama, romance
Released date: 20 November 2004
Running Time: 91 minutes
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Animated by: CoMix Wave Inc.
Comment: After Voices of a Distant Star, Makoto Shinkai’s The Place Promised in Our Early Days confirmed me that the director’s huge success from his previous film was not a fluke. Similar to his previous work, this anime was mainly a love story with science fiction as a background. It set in an alternate universe in which Japan was separated into Northern and Southern part. The northern Japan was controlled by the Union and, using advanced technology, the Union built the mysterious tower which could bridge this universe with other parallel ones. The story followed three teenagers, Hiroki, Takuya and Sayuri. Sayuri was granddaughter of the tower’s creator and she was somehow connected to the parallel universe. As a result, Sayuri fell into prolonged sleep. The two boys (Hiroki and Takuya) who had romantic feelings for Sayuki planned to save her by flying her to the tower. The anime was a feast to the eyes with richly illustrated background and characters. There were enough widescreen shots and landscapes to make an art gallery. The anime took long time to slowly establish the relationships between the three main characters which gradually changed and developed throughout the film. The pace, consequently, was slow but no scene or dialogue was without meaning. The climax in which Sayuri revealed her true feeling to Hiroki knowing that she would soon lost her memory was, at least for me , heart breaking. The music was sad and sweet. Conclusion: The Place Promised in Our Early Days was overwhelmingly beautiful both on the surface and from deep within.
Rating: A

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Millennium Actress: anime review

Title: Millennium Actress
Genre: drama, fantasy, romance
Released date: September 14, 2002
Running Time: 87 minutes
Director: Satoshi Kon
Comment: Millennium Actress was one woman’s quest to find her true love. When she was a school girl, Chiyoko met a mysterious man who was a government rebel. She sheltered him and soon learned that he was a painter. One day the police found him and he ran away while Chiyoko wasn’t home. She tried to chase him but found only his key which was dropped behind. Since then she never stopped looking for the man and return the key to him even after she became a famous actress. The whole movie was about Chiyoko’s live, career and her quest to find her lost love. The real events were told parallel to the various scenes in Chiyoko’s movies which ranged from historical Japan to space traveling era. It was very exciting to see Chiyoko in many different rolls e.g. ninja, princess, war survivor and astronaut. Another important character was Tachibana. He held the key to Chiyoko’s past and the fate of the man she loved. He also served as a comic relief for the anime. I like how Tachibana participated in all the scenes from Chiyiko’s movies because he helped connect the past to the present, the fantasy to reality and represented his intimacy with Chiyoko’s works. The production was superb and the music was great. Millennium Actress differed from other Satoshi Kon’s works because not only it had unique style of story telling that combined reality with fantasy but it was also a heart warming anime. Conclusion: This kind of anime is the reason I love anime so much.
Rating: A+

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Tsukihime, Lunar Legend: anime review

Title: Tsukihime, Lunar Legend
Genre: drama, horror, supernatural, romance
Released date: 9 October 2003 – 25 December 2003
Episodes: 12
Director: Katsushi Sakurabi
Animated by: J.C.Staff
Comment: In Tsukihime, there were vampires, wolf like monsters, lots of blood and gore and deaths but it was actually the story of a lonely vampire princess who had spent 800 years hunting monsters and a young man who hated and feared himself because he possessed deadly powers. For horror fans, this anime would disappoint them. For action fans, this would not satisfy them. But for those who enjoyed drama and character driven anime, this one might be unexpectedly good. Not only Tohno Shiki and Arcueid Brunestud had secrets, other characters did too; Akiha inherited non-human blood, Ciel was working for the Vatican, Yumizuka was secretly in love with Shiki. These characters and their interactions were the most interesting element of this anime. Although the ending was really sad, it was memorable and wrapped up all the loose ends well.The soundtrack was nice. What would displease many viewers was its slow pace and long boring dialogues which were always left incomplete and did not take the story anywhere. After I finished the series, I could not help feel that the screenplay had too little to tell for a 12 episode long anime. Conclusion: Tsukihime was a decent and interesting drama anime but it was very slow that many people might fall asleep before they reach half of the series.
Rating: C+

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