Voices of a Distant Star: anime review

Title: Voices of a Distant Star
Genre: sci-fi, mecha, romance
Released date: February 2, 2003
Running Time: 25 minutes
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Comment: Voices of s Distant Star was made almost entirely by Makoto Shinkai. He directed, produced, wrote and even did the voice acting in the first version of the anime. This anime brought him quickly to fame and won several awards. Despite its 25 minute running time, Voices of s Distant Star was one of the most powerful love story I’ve seen. Two high school students, Mikako and Noboru, were in love but they had to part because Mikako was chosen by the US space army to be a pilot in the interplanetary war against some invading aliens. Mikako had to travel to planets light years away from Earth and she communicated with Noboru by sending messages via her cell phone. Due to time dilation, Mikako’s words would take years to reach Noboru. I was devastated in the scene which 24 year old Noboru receive a message from 15 year old Mkako. It was just tragic. The anime did well in emphasizing the loneliness and sadness of the two characters by using tear-squeezing conversations, lonely backgrounds (such as empty classroom and deserted streets in the rain) and beautiful music. The visuals might look crude and not very smooth but was forgivable since the anime was produce by only one person. I secretly wished that more would be explained about the war and the aliens. There were things that bothered me like why did Mikako still wear school uniform and use her own cell phone even when she was in space? Conclusion: Good anime doesn’t mean big budget or long running time but rather good script, good idea and direction. I would have cried in the end if I were a girl or a few years younger.
Rating: B+

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Wonderful Days: anime review

Title: Wonderful Days
Genre: sci-fi, action, romance
Released date: July 17, 2003
Running Time: 86 minutes
Director: Moon-saeng Kim
Comment: Wonderful Days was the first and only Korean animated feature I’ve watched so far. It’s clear that great effort and budget was put into making this anime. The background and the vehicles were all 3D and the characters were 2D. Both elements were smoothly combined and resulted in an eye popping experience. In contrast to the first-class visuals, the story offered nothing but what had been told several times before. The high-tech city that fed on pollution, slavery and a struggle for freedom, the leading character, Shua, who was an exile and now fighting against his own people, the love triangle (sounds awfully like some soap opera) that ended, predictably, in tragedy. I was annoyed by the plot because the anime with this level of technical achievement deserved a little more creative story. But don’t get me wrong. I did like this anime and I saw great potential in it. The plot, however out dated, was handled well and the drama was intense and the action was amazing. Conclusion: Wonderful Days was visually spectacular and the drama worked despite the fact that the story stayed in the area that had been plowed several times before by other sci-fi flicks.
Rating: B

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Ocean Waves (aka I Can Hear the Sea): anime review

Title: Ocean Waves (aka I Can Hear the Sea)
Genre: drama, romance
Released date: May 5, 1993
Running Time: 72 minutes
Director: Tomomi Mochizuki
Animated by: Studio Ghibli
Comment: It was probably because I’ve watched countless anime series and movies in which monsters walked in the cities, people had supernatural powers, teenagers saved the world and miracles happened everyday that when I watched Ocean Waves I was literally stunned by its simplicity, tranquility and warmth. The story was simply the lives of three high school students, Taku, Matsuno and Rikako, in their last year before going to collage. Their personalities, their pasts and their relationships were smartly described by normal events such as the scene in which Taku showed his courage in expressing his opinion against the teachers about canceling the school trip or when Rikako had a fight with her dad a ran to Taku’s hotel room and as a consequence Taku had to sleep in the bath tub. The animation was average but greatly benefited from stillness that made every scene so beautiful and gave viewers a chance to meditate and appreciate the anime even more. The final scene when Taku saw Rikako at the train station was unbelievably touching with the 360 degree camera rotation. Conclusion: This is one of those rare animes that filled me with joy every time I watch it. One of my favorites.
Rating: A+

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My Neighbor Totoro: anime review

Title: My Neighbor Totoro
Genre: drama, fantasy, family
Released date: April 16, 1988
Running Time: 86 minutes
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Animated by: Studio Ghibli
Comment: My Neighbor Totoro was one of the earlier films produced by Studio Ghibli and is now considered a classic. Directed by the widely acclaimed Hayao Miyazaki, the anime told a story of a father and his two daughters who had just moved into new house in rural Japan. The children soon met their supernatural neighbor whom the younger sister, Mei, called Totoro. Totoro was interpreted as “keeper of the forest” by the girls’ father and he would appear when the children needed help. The concept of environmentalism was cleverly and subly presented in this movie in the form of cudly Totoro. The children would love him and at the same time fell in love with the country life, the trees, the flowers and the streams. Like other Miyazaki’s film, My Neighbor Totoro was rich in details and the anime itself pulsed with real heart beat. It was really interesting that there is absolutely no villain in this anime. The people in the story had problems and they had to get through many obstacles but they were all good and kind. The scenery of 1950s countryside was beautifully drawn and effectively created nostalgic feeling. Conclusion: This is a true masterpiece and a must see for everybody.
Rating: A

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Fate/Stay Night: anime review

Title: Fate/Stay Night

Genre: action, fantasy, supernatural
Released date: January 6, 2006 – June 16, 2006
Episode: 24
Director: Yuji Yamaguchi
Animated by: Studio Deen
Comment: Seven magi called “masters” and their summoned spirits known as “servants” must fight each other until only one pair was left and the winner gets the Holy Grail. Shiro Emiya was a typical nice guy; average looking, kind, hardworking, honest and inherited familial secret power. The story was nothing new either; Emiya was involuntarily drawn into the war for the Holy Grail, met his pretty but deadly female servant named “Saber”, fell in love with her and discovered the secret behind his father’s death. The plot was predictable from the beginning to the end and some episodes were just fillers. The chemistry between the two leading characters was poorly established despite the long conversations and screen time given to them. What made up for these flaws was the exciting battle between the servants and magi who possessed extraordinary powers. These action sequences are the only thing that drove the story forward. The script was clever to reveal the competing magi and servants one by one. The production was well done but the soundtrack sound rather like a fighting scene in video games. Conclusion: Fate/Stay Night was entertaining enough to spend several hours watching but hardly offered anything else.
Rating: C

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Basilisk: Koga Ninpo Cho: anime review

Title: Basilisk: Koga Ninpo Cho
Genre: action, histerical, fantasy
Released date: April 2005 – September 2005
Episode: 24
Director: Fumitomo Kizaki
Animated by: GONZO studio
Comment: Two ninja clans with 400 years of hatred, the Iga and Kouga, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. Although many ninjas of both clan were happy about the battle, the two young heir of Kouga and Iga, Gennosuke and Oboro respectively, were in love and were about to get married. The story was simple, straight forward and very Romeo-and-Juliet-like. But the real charm of this anime lied in the characters. Each character had good and bad sides. They were kind and loving among their allies but were cold-blooded and merciless to their foes. They are very human and it broke my heart every time a character suffered a miserable end. The anime effectively expressed the monsters the war brought out of men. The political issue was interesting and helped make the story more complicated and more exciting. The action scenes were swift, often shocking and always masterfully done. Conclusion: This character-driven anime series was a nonstop fun ride with great production, great characters and serious messages for viewers to think about. It was a very emotional experience for me watching this anime. I love it. Caution: the anime contained adult themes, violence and nudity.
Rating: A

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Boogiepop Phantom: anime review

Title: Boogiepop Phantom
Genre: sci-fi, horror, mystery
Released date: 6 January 2000 – 22 March 2000
Episode: 12
Director: Takashi Watanabe
Animated by: Madhouse studio
Comment: I have never read the Boogiepop novels and I have no background knowledge about the series prior to watching the anime. So, the only thing that drove me to finish this series was sheer curiosity. Unfortunately, the anime started with the event called “Pillar of light” which was actually the end of a very long and complex story involving numerous incoherently explained characters such as Nagi Kirima, the Manticore, Echoes and the Boogiepop itself. The anime never bother to tell these back stories but instead told the stories that were the consequence of the pillar of light. So, the twelve episodes of Boogiepop Phantom were twelve separated stories with few recurring characters and overlapping events but none of them were directly related to each other and the main plot was literally absent.

Despite the lack of main theme, Boogiepop managed to keep me interested all the time with each passing episode which was strange, unique and occasionally had unexpected twists. Some episodes could be considered a horror show, some were science fictions or even psychological thriller. The bad new was there was no conclusion made in the end of the series. So the twelve episodes of Boogiepop were left separated and my curiosity was not satisfied. It was frustrating. The animation was good although things hardly moved in this anime. the art direction and soundtrack successfully created a world so mysterious and haunting. Conclusion: Boogiepop Phamtom had plenty of unique and interesting concept and ideas but sadly failed to tied all of them together in the end making the series quite disappointing as a whole.
Rating: C

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Lament of the Lamb: anime review

Title: Lament of the Lamb (Hitsuji no Uta)
Genre: drama, horror
Released date: May 25, 2003
Episode: 4 (OVA)
Director: Gisabuo Sugii
Animated by: Madhouse studio
Comment: An extremely depressing story about Kazuna and his sister Chizuna who inherited a rare disease from their mother. The disease made them get uncontrollably thirsty when they saw blood or any blood colored liquid (vampirism). The story focused on Kazuna who recently discovered his illness and how he struggled to survived in the society. The anime was elaborately slow to emphasize the sadness, the despair and the loneliness of the lead characters. The most interesting part of this anime was that it showed a completely different aspect of vampire story; There were no scary or action scenes, no vampire hunters with guns or holy water and the vimpires were just regular peple with illness and all the human feelings. The animation was well done and the music was hauntingly beautiful. If the main objective of this anime was to make the viewers sad, it had succeeded. Conclusion: Lament of the Lamb was another interesting drama anime but it would not please younger viewers and those who wanted something fun.
Rating: B

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