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Seen all▲▼
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Rating▲▼
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Comment▲▼
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| 5 Centimeters Per Second (movie) |
Excellent |
|
| Accel World (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Accel World (OAV) |
Very good |
|
| Afro Samurai (TV) |
Not really good |
|
| Ah! My Goddess (TV) |
Good |
I’ve only recently begun this series. At least in the initial episodes, the plot is pretty much the same as the OVA, and the characters seem to be the same as well, but the story and character development are explored in a bit more depth. Thus far, except for some innuendo, there’s nothing objectionable. |
| Ah! My Goddess: The Movie |
Good |
Picks up shortly after the OVA left off. A good story that offers some insight into where Belldandy came from and why she is who she is. In a struggle with a fallen god, will Keiichi and Belldandy’s relationship survive? Some slightly risque comments. |
| Air (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Air (movie) |
Good |
|
| Aiura (TV) |
Good |
|
| Akane Maniax (OAV) |
Decent |
|
| Akira (movie) |
Decent |
Biker gangs, secret military projects and psionic psychos. The future is dark and desperate. A mysterious psychic force known only as Akira starts to exert influence over our anti-hero, Tetsuo, in a twenty-first century world. Well known amongst the art crowd, this is a dystopian film whose background is Neo-Tokyo (a city that shows up in a lot of anime)–something along the lines of a Mad Max film, but weirder and set in an urban environment. Plenty of profanity, ugly violence, gore, and a brief bit of nudity. |
| Amatsuki (TV) |
Good |
|
| Amon Saga (OAV) |
Decent |
Sword and Sorcery in a somewhat generic fantasy setting (though the giant tortoise city is interesting). Amon is on a mission of vengeance against the Emperor Valhiss, and so joins a group of mercenaries in the service of the emperor. In the end, he teams up with some other warriors against a wizard and a warlord, and there’s also a damsel in distress. This story is full of standard fantasy anime tropes, such as Amon being found as an orphaned youth by a master swordsman. There’s also a scene that’s an obvious rip-off of Return of the Jedi. Mild nudity, violence, gore. |
| (The) Animatrix (OAV) |
Very good |
Nine sub-stories set in the world of The Matrix. Some of them are powerful and beautiful stuff. “World Record,” “Beyond” and “Detective Story” particularly stood out for me. A bit of nudity. Gore. |
| Appleseed (movie) |
Good |
Pretty interesting story set after WW III, about a girl soldier named Deunan Knute, and the fellow soldier she loved but who is now a cyborg that is mostly machine–a step beyond Robocop. A film about the dark side of utopia, the story takes place primarily in the superficially clean and utopian post-disaster city of Olympus, a place that is populated by not only humans, but a large number of clones called bioroids. In an attempt to stop terrorists, Deunan must activate something called Appleseed, but begins to find that there is more to Olympus and its leadership than first meets the eye. Some plot holes, but still an enjoyable story. Great mecha action with a human touch, and the characteristic Japanese exploration of what it means to be human. CG anime. Gore and profanity. A bit of mild nudity. |
| Appleseed: Ex Machina (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Arjuna (TV) |
Not really good |
This series starts out interesting–a girl who is into archery dies in a motorcycle accident but is brought back to save the world–but gets so weighed down by its own heavy-handed preachiness that it stops being a story at all and is simply a screed about man’s relationship with nature. It’s pure religion, and ignores its own faulty thinking and inconsistencies to propound its impossible utopian ideals. Some sex talk. |
| Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (movie) |
Decent |
A cop named Ross Sylibus hunts a psycho-killer of android women. Naomi Armitage is his unorthodox partner who has some unknown connection with all of the victims. A Bladerunner-esque story, with a fair amount of profanity, and a good deal of nudity, including full frontal. Gore. |
| Armitage: Dual-Matrix (movie) |
Good |
An evil corporation is on the hunt for Naomi Armitage, wanting the secret of the Third Series of androids’ ability to bear children. A much more tender story than the first; the character of Armitage is less brassy. You can watch this movie without having seen the first, and you won’t be lost. There is profanity and a bit of non-sexual nudity. Gore. |
| Azumanga Daioh (TV) |
Very good |
High school girl series, with a lot of charm and comic fun. It is also a heartwarming and interesting look into Japanese culture. This series is basically a collection of vignettes that explore the characters of the students and two of their teachers (one of whom, Miss Yukari, is more immature than any of the students). The characters are very sympathetic and lovable, especially the main six girls. There is one very unfortunate-for-the-series character (as far as I’m concerned): a strange and nerdy male teacher who has a thing for high school girls. He’s mostly pitiful, and doesn’t come across as truly menacing, but I’d have preferred the series without him. There is a bit of other innuendo, as well as that pseudo-lesbian Japanese girl attraction phenomenon that you find in a lot of other series (like Bleach and Revolutionary Girl Utena). An enjoyable series about the adventures and misadventures of Japanese high school girls, their friends and associates. |
| Bamboo Blade (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Barefoot Gen (movie) |
Decent |
This film is based on the actual boyhood experiences of the manga artist Keiji Nakazawa, who lost his family to the atomic bomb. The story is pretty good, but unfortunately, while this film wants to be Grave of the Fireflies it has some serious problems that cause it to fall short. First of all the music is terrible. It doesn’t remotely capture the essence of the story, the pathos, the tragedy, and Gen’s unconquerable human spirit. But the biggest problem here is the artwork. I imagine it’s based on Nakazawa’s original art, but it really doesn’t work for this sort of story–it’s far too cartoony. Combine that with poor quality animation, and that really diminishes the characters and the plot. This actually would have made a wonderful, powerful and heart wrenching live-action feature. But as it is, it’s simply a pale imitation of Fireflies. |
| Barefoot Gen 2 (movie) |
Decent |
Picks up a few years after the first film left off. All of the same strengths as its predecessor–but unfortunately, all of the same weaknesses as well. |
| Big Wars (OAV) |
Decent |
Good, old-fashioned WW II naval story set on Mars. Top secret missions, alien mind-control and cat and mouse naval warfare. Captain Akuh must fight against both aliens and alien mind control to hunt an alien battleship. Pretty good film for the most part, actually. R-rated sex and nudity. |
| Black Blood Brothers (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Black Cat (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Black Lagoon (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Blood+ (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Blood: The Last Vampire (movie) |
Good |
A pretty good mix of CG and cell animation. My main problem with this anime movie? It’s way too short. It would have made a much better feature, in my opinion–though, of course, it would have needed a lot more story development. The characters are interesting, especially Saya the vampire girl. We don’t know much about her, but it’s almost as if what we don’t know makes her all that more intriguing. Set in Japan on an America air base during the Vietnam war, this is a stylish and action-centric tale of a secret organization hunting demons who feed on human blood. The story focuses on Saya going undercover as a student at a school on the base to hunt demons. The big surprise for me was that much of the film is in English, because of all the America characters. At first I thought I hadn’t set the language and subtitles correctly. Profanity, gore and brief nudity. |
| Blue Submarine No.6 (OAV) |
|
|
| (The) Boy Who Saw the Wind (movie) |
Good |
This show reminded me in a lot of ways of a Hayao Miyazaki film; mostly Castle in the Sky, with a dash or two of Nausicaa and Porco Rosso. However, it’s not as gentle as Miyazaki. There’s gore (some), and real tragedy. A young boy with strange powers is sought by the head of a militant government to help create the ultimate weapon. There’s definitely more than a touch of Now and Then here. There are gods of nature involved (snake-war, eagle-wind, dolphin-sea) in the story, though mostly in the background. A fairly good-looking show with good animation. Some mild–male–nudity. |
| Bunny Drop (TV) |
Masterpiece |
|
| Castle in the Sky (movie) |
Very good |
A boy named Pazu finds a girl floating down from the sky. Sky pirates, government plots, rescuing damsels in distress. What more could you ask for? Pazu must help mystery girl Sheeta discover the secret of Laputa, a floating city. Fun kid’s fantasy. Action violence. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| (The) Cat Returns (movie) |
Excellent |
Charming and weird fantasy about a girl who helps a cat on a city street and finds herself unwillingly engaged to the prince of cats from the cat kingdom. Sort of a Japanese Alice in Wonderland. Studio Ghibli, but not Hayao Miyazaki. |
| Cat Soup (OAV) |
Decent |
A strange, surreal little art film, about–sort of–a little cat trying to bring his sister back from the dead, but in a tussle with death he only gets half her soul, so he sets out to completely restore her. However, that makes it sound like this film has a plot, but it really doesn’t. It’s all about the imagery, some off which is quite beautiful, some of which is quite disturbing. For instance, dismemberment is a major visual theme. There are other disturbing elements as well, especially in a section where time goes backwards. A touch of nudity, a touch of cannibalism. Gore. |
| (Le) Chevalier D'Eon (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Chihayafuru (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Chihayafuru 2 (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Chobits (TV) |
Decent |
A cute but rather crude series about a boy named Hideki who finds a computer shaped like a girl. A lot of sexual humor–and a running gag about internet (and other) porn–make this unsuitable for children. It reminded me, at first, of a decently written prime time network sitcom–with all of the baggage that implies. The sexual element gets more explicit as the series progresses, and the series darkens (and gets more interesting) as well; however it also introduces some soap opera elements, and the interconnectedness of all the characters seems too contrived. I’m somewhat conflicted in my opinion, but ultimately the series didn’t really work for me. |
| Chrono Crusade (TV) |
Good |
Fun but weird series set in the roaring 20s with demon fighting nuns. The main character is Sister Rosette Christopher, a member of the Order of Magdaline, who has a devil named Chrono as her sidekick and constant companion–and with whom she has a life and death connection. Though she is supposed to be fighting the battles she assigned by the Order, her ultimate purpose it to rescue her brother from the demon Aion. Sort of an off-beat Sound of Music–without the music (although one character does sing). There’s a struggle between heaven and two opposing factions of demons. As with a lot of anime, this series gets a lot more serious–and a lot more interesting–as it moves toward its bittersweet ending. There's a lecherous engineer/scientist who works for the nuns. Profanity and gore. Fan service. |
| City Hunter: Bay City Wars (movie) |
Awful |
Die Hard, but a lot dumber. Lots of sex humor. Not very interesting. I guess I should have known better, as I’ve seen the live action Jackie Chan version–it wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t as bad as this is. |
| City Hunter: Million Dollar Conspiracy (movie) |
Awful |
Ditto, Bay City Wars. |
| Claymore (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Comic Party (TV) |
Good |
|
| Cowboy Bebop (TV) |
Good |
Interesting noir-esque and jazz informed series about future bounty hunters. Light touch, that darkens as the series progresses. It goes very Japanese by the last episodes. All the main characters have intriguing back stories which we learn about as we lurch from adventure to misadventure and back again over the course of the series. Spike Spiegel is a laid-back ex-mafioso martial artist, whose past may cross into his future. Jet Black is a big ex-cop with a heart of gold, but maybe too much heart to let go of his own past. Faye Valentine is a beautiful but self-centered woman who has no past. Ed is the wonky air-headed computer geek who is the source of some of the best laughs in the show. And Ein is the data-dog. Some profanity, nudity and innuendo. I also thought I’d check out the remix version to see if there were any differences, but other than a sound upgrade, I didn’t note any deviation from the original. It’s still a great series. I watched episode one with the commentary track. |
| Cowboy Bebop: The Movie |
Good |
The Bebop bounty hunters are up against a psycho terrorist. Excellent animation, interesting story, this is a good addition to the Bebop universe. This story is set somewhere in the middle of the chronology of the series. Some profanity, slight nudity, and some inferred sex. |
| Cromartie High School (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Cybernetics Guardian (OAV) |
Not really good |
A pilot for a series that was never made? Seems like it, anyway. A future city with violence brewing in the slums and science gone awry lead to the creation of a man-monster. Not very interesting. Brief, non-sexual nudity. Gore. |
| Cybuster (TV) |
Decent |
Post-disaster robots. 2040 Tokyo is in ruins, little more than a polluted wasteland. Teen robot pilots are there to clean it up–but things start getting complicated with mysterious robots, explosions caused by micro black holes and something wrong with people in the top command at the clean-up company where they work. Ken Ando wants to be a robot pilot, but finds himself caught up in the enigma that surrounds the mystery robot. Seems to be aimed at a kid audience (at least in its American release), but actually the story is more sophisticated than that. Fairly slow paced, and the filmmakers seem to have avoided animating actual fights whenever possible. Some profanity. |
| Darkside Blues (movie) |
So-so |
This is one of the first animes that I’m feeling uncertain of my rating. I’m tempted to go higher, but I can’t really bring myself to do so. This is a stylish show, with somewhat interesting characters, by the guy who brought us Vampire Hunter D–which is part of my dilemma. I gave VHD the same rating, and this show is definitely better. But it’s such a mishmash of styles and genres, it leaves so many more questions than answers, I just don’t think I can go higher. In a gothic future, most of the world is ruled by a mega-corporation. Rebels do the occasional terrorist act, but are mostly impotent. Into the middle of this a man in a horse drawn carriage shows up from another dimension and starts healing people’s psychological wounds. People fight. People die. Who is this mystic man? Where did he come from? And what is his actual purpose here? There’s a lot of potential in this film. Intriguing plot elements. But in the end it’s simply more style than substance. Gore, violence, some nudity. |
| Devil May Cry (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Diamond Daydreams (TV) |
So-so |
Sometimes I don’t know why I continue with a series. Who knows what strangeness lurks deep in my psyche? This series is for girls about girls–but mostly unsympathetic girls who make stupid choices, and are basically obnoxious in a variety of ways. There’s brattiness, and interest in the wrong sort of men, and being uncompromising and mean to others, and adultery, etc. There are only a couple of interesting–and likable–characters in the entire series, and even they are not what you would call great examples of how to live one’s life. The series all takes place during one snowy winter, and each two episodes tell the tale of one lovelorn girl. |
| Eat-Man '98 (TV) |
So-so |
A strange and sometimes nonsensical series about a mercenary who can eat metal and pull weapons out of his hand. No, really, that’s what it’s about! It seems like it wants to be Trigun (with some Cyborg 009 thrown in), only completely serious, with a taciturn protagonist who has a weird and very literal sense of honor. There’s more than just a little of Clint Eastwood’s “man with no name” here as well, crossed with Conan. This feels like the sort of anime (or manga) that a high school kid would come up with. Some gore. Slight lesbianism in one episode. |
| Eden of the East (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Eden of the East: The King of Eden (movie) |
Very good |
|
| Elementalors (OAV) |
So-so |
This is an okay short film, about a boy from our world–with lots of emotional baggage–who finds out he can control elements, and who is caught up in a battle between other elementalors. The plot is pretty thin. A fair amount of nudity. Gore. |
| Ergo Proxy (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Escaflowne: The Movie |
Good |
Interesting fantasy movie where a girl named Hitomi from our world is pulled into another (called Gaea) and is the key to its survival or destruction. Enjoyable, but could have used more character development. I think sometimes, especially in feature anime, the filmmakers assume the viewer has read the manga and doesn’t need character development. The girl here is more whiny and less likable than in the TV series. PG-13 for a bit of profanity and a good deal of gore. |
| Eureka Seven (TV) |
Excellent |
A young boy named Renton Thurston who loves sky surfing (something similar to Treasure Planet) and whose father died saving the world, winds up with a bunch of rogue surfers who fight the establishment after a giant mech being pursued by the military crashes into the house where he and his grandfather live. More complicated than it sounds, this is cross between Last Exile and Mars Daybreak, with a touch of Fooly Cooly. Likable characters with a dark past. Action violence and innuendo. |
| éX-Driver (OAV) |
Decent |
In a future where almost everyone travels in cars controlled by artificial intelligence, a few people drive old fashioned sports cars to chase and stop runaway cars–and if this series is any indication, that’s a whole lot of cars. (Why exactly you would ever ride in one of these AI cars, I don’t know.) There’s a touch of Akira here, a touch of Bubblegum Crisis, and more than a touch of samurai movies by the end. This is a mostly harmless series, but one episode decides it’s time to visit all of the sexual sitcom anime cliche’s (nose bleeds, double entendre’s, cleavage shots) when a maverick motorcycle éX-Rider shows up to help out. Action violence, innuendo, mild fan service. |
| Fate/stay night (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (US CG movie) |
Masterpiece |
A female scientist, suffering from an alien infection, may be the only thing standing between mankind’s survival and the end of the world at the hands of alien phantoms. Other forces are in play, however, that might destroy the aliens first–and everything else as well. This is vastly underrated show, and it’s tragic that it died at the box office. Well worth seeing, though very Japanese in its storytelling style (which may account for why it didn’t do well in America). Graphic violence and profanity. |
| FLCL (OAV) |
Good |
This OVA series is nothing short of bizarre. This is anime on acid. Like an insane Neon Genesis (the main character is definitely a take-off on Shinji) crossed with Tenchi, or Serial Experiment Lain on drugs (and Lain was already sort of on drugs), or something from Heavy Metal. The style is reminiscent of Tank Girl. It spoofs a lot of other anime–plenty of references, both sly and obvious. Great art, interesting animation, really weird story with some brain-itching subtexts that remind me of–though are nowhere near as bad as–Eraser Head. Definitely some sexual, Freudian strangeness going on, but nothing explicit. Profanity and disturbing imagery. |
| From Up On Poppy Hill (movie) |
Masterpiece |
|
| Fruits Basket (TV 1/2001) |
Very good |
An orphaned teen girl–named Tohru Honda–trying to live on her own in the woods ends up living which a bunch of young men with a dark (and fantastical) secret at a traditional Japanese country house. Tohru is charmingly optimistic and hard working in the face of life’s sometimes terrible challenges, the other characters are interesting and sympathetic, and her friends (a brash American girl, and a strange psychic girl) provide some good comic relief. Light in tone with some dark undertones to start, it ends dark in tone with some light overtones. No profanity, no sex/nudity. Some cross-dressing, and references to pretended homosexuality. |
| Full Metal Panic! (TV) |
Very good |
Interesting series. Reminds me, in some ways, of Generator Gawl. Serious action/drama, mixed with comedy. In other ways it reminds me of Neon Genesis (without the weirdness) and Gundam Seed (with a lot more humor). A secret mecha-armed organization tries to protect a girl named Kaname Chidori who may have super psychic powers, but the officers involved get themselves into a variety of misadventures. However, in spite of all the humorous elements, the main storyline is quite serious and dramatic. Intriguing characters and storyline. Many sexual references (the main character’s friend is a lecher–though the protagonist (Sousuke) is actually charmingly naive), gore and profanity. |
| Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (TV) |
Good |
Kaname and Sousuke must save Tokyo from an evil conspiracy. The FMP people do it again. Great stuff. These are simply great characters, and the story is not only action-filled, but very human. This is another good iteration of the FMP universe. Action violence, gore, innuendo, graphic nudity in one episode as well as a smattering of other nudity in other episodes, and a very strange relationship between a pair of assassin sisters. |
| Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (OAV) |
So-so |
|
| Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (TV) |
Good |
The same characters as the first series, but this second outing is focused entirely on romance and zaniness at the high school. Man, when this thing is on, it’s hilarious. I really love the relationship between Kaname and Sousuke. The more lowbrow aspects are here in force, but at the same time some of these episodes are the funniest anime I’ve ever seen. For example, as crude as it is, there’s a laugh-out-loud send-up of the underdog sport movie genre. The characters in Fumoffu are still themselves, and that’s definitely a redeeming grace. Sousuke is still wonderfully innocent. In the previously mentioned sports episode, he has to actually read a book on how to swear at the raw “recruits” of the rugby team–and he doesn’t know what the words and phrases mean. A head's up for those who a sensative to such things–there is a whole lot more crudity here than the first series. In one case, there’s a misunderstanding between two boys and the school custodian where he thinks they are propositioning him. In another, an entire episode is devoted to some of the characters trying to see the girls naked at a hot spring. Sousuke, however, sees everything through the grim lens of a somber soldier–which makes things like love notes left in lockers possible threats to life and limb. Fun stuff. Fan service and violence. |
| Fullmetal Alchemist (TV) |
Excellent |
A fascinating series. Indeed, one of the best anime series I’ve ever watched. Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse pay a terrible price when they try to use alchemy to raise their mother from the dead. Now they must search for the Philosopher’s Stone to undo what should never have been done, but dark secrets and forces lie along the way of that journey. Interesting, sympathetic characters. Lots of plots and subplots and political machinations. Some profanity and a good deal of gore. |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa |
Excellent |
This feature film picks up where the series left off. The animation quality is a bit better, but everything else is the same–which qualifies as a good thing. |
| Galaxy Fraulein Yuna (OAV) |
So-so |
Kind of fun, in a spoof sort of way. Ultra-powerful, galactic savior and villain lunatic teen girls run amok. Funny most of the time, it takes a serious Japanese turn toward the end. Some lesbian references. |
| Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (TV) |
Good |
A stylish and well-crafted updating of the classic Dumas tale. Take one of the darker tales in the western literary canon, add it to the Japanese sense of drama and tragedy, mix liberally and you have something dark but wonderful. The visuals are very distinctive and provide a contrast to the darkness of the tale itself. Albert, a young man born into privilege and wealth in Paris, runs into a strange but fascinating man during his travels to Luna–a man with dark secrets, and even darker intentions. Some nudity, a fair amount of graphic violence and a lot of adult themes and sexuality, including incest. |
| Garzey's Wing (OAV) |
So-so |
This OVA series is okay, and has some good elements, but it lacks both character development and story development. Things happen out of nowhere, and the main character is mostly unmotivated in his actions. Unlike a lot of these short OVA series, this one doesn’t so much feel like an incomplete series (like Rg Veda) but rather like the preface to something that was never followed up on. A young man is thrown into a fantasy world to be its savior. Up to that point it’s like countless other anime titles. But in this case, he is somehow split and part of him remains on Earth while the other part of him is in the fantasy world. The story is pretty minimal, and clichéd. My understanding is that this is a side story to another–longer–anime series. Gore. |
| Generator Gawl (TV) |
Very good |
Fun and funny series about genetically modified time-travelers trying to fix a disaster in their past that led to the dystopian future they are from. A touch of Terminator and a bit of 12 Monkeys, this is a very entertaining series. Gets quite serious toward the end. Some gore and profanity. This is an overlooked series that deserves a larger following. |
| Genshiken (TV) |
Decent |
A series about otaku–which I guess is a self-reflecting subgenre of anime, but this is the only series I’ve seen any episodes of thus far. At times this is a fun and interesting look into Japanese fandom, but ultimately there’s far too much of the sordid side of that fandom for my taste. Sasahara is a young man who joins a college club consisting of a few misfits and a handsome young kid who doesn’t look like your standard fan-dweeb, and they all try to keep their club alive in the face of competition from other clubs. The best character is Saki, the handsome boy’s girlfriend, who hates otaku, and torments the club members, but hangs out because her boyfriend is always there. Sex, lots of innuendo and references to porn. |
| Getbackers (TV) |
Decent |
Interesting series that, like a lot of other anime series, borrows heavily from X-men tropes. Two guys with super powers named Ban and Ginji run an agency to recover lost and stolen items. Much of this is nonsense, and there are serious plot holes, but the characters are the redeeming grace. Fun. It gets a lot more serious as the series progresses, and the story gets to be a lot more about the lead characters themselves than recovering lost items. Fan service and gore. |
| Ghost in the Shell (movie) |
Good |
A female cyborg agent and her partner hunt for hackers in a thoroughly wired world. They need to find out who is behind a computer virus that can actually infect humans. Interesting story, it’s easy to see why this movie had such a big impact on anime. No sexuality, but a great deal of nudity. Some profanity. Gore. |
| Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (movie) |
Good |
The original cyborg’s partner is back, investigating the murder of a pleasure-bot’s master, while trying to hang on to what little humanity remains to him. Gore, sexual themes. |
| Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society (movie) |
Good |
|
| Ghost Stories (TV) |
Good |
This is a pretty good series about school kids who have to banish ghosts from an old school with the help of a book written by one of the girl’s deceased mother. It feels a bit like Goosebumps, but deals with what I understand is a large stable of Japanese “school ghost stories” as well as traditional Japanese tales of the supernatural. I’ve noticed references to these stories in other anime, but this is a series in which exploring and exploiting these stories is its central object. However, while much of each episode feels like a kid’s show, it ultimately is not for kids. There is gore, and real violence–people really die (about one every other episode). And especially for younger kids, there is some nightmare-inducing imagery. Other than that though, there’s not much objectionable. A running series of panty jokes is about as far as that sort of thing goes, and there’s not really any fan service or nudity. |
| (The) Girl Who Leapt Through Time (movie) |
Very good |
|
| Grave of the Fireflies (movie) |
Masterpiece |
A searingly painful but utterly beautiful and artistic look at the lives of two children during WWII as they face a multitude of threats, including firebombing, hunger, and despair. In spite of the rating, this is not for children because of the absolutely unflinching look at the consequences of the war on the character’s lives. Studio Ghibli. |
| Grenadier (TV) |
Good |
|
| Gungrave (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Gunparade March (TV) |
Very good |
This is story set in an alternative Japan, where aliens invaded during WW II. The series itself, however, takes place in our time, with high school students fighting the aliens in Mechs. There’s a touch of Fullmetal Panic, in that it’s really more a story about high school kids than fighting aliens, but it’s a lot more serious than FMP. The animation is uneven–almost like it was done by two studios, or at least two different teams of animators–as the Mecha fighting is really polished, but the regular story is fairly crudely done. Great characters, a good solid high school romance series (but where things blow up and aliens are trying to take over). Some references to lesbianism, some innuendo, some nudity and real violence. |
| Gunslinger Girl (TV) |
Very good |
A profoundly tragic, but also profoundly interesting series about girls with terminal illnesses who are turned into brainwashed cyborg assassins for the Italian government. It sounds weird, but it’s actually a very moving look at human pathos. Gore and very real violence. |
| GUNxSWORD (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Hades Project Zeorymer (OAV) |
Weak |
A high school student is ripped from his normal life only to find that most of what he believed is a lie–including his parents who aren’t really his parents. He has actually been created to be the pilot of a giant fighting robot. Unfortunately, like M.D. Geist, this show has a thoroughly unlikable protagonist. Sex and nudity. |
| Haibane Renmei (TV) |
Excellent |
This series is in some ways like an extended metaphor for life, and a story of loss and hope and redemption. It is also a look into an intriguing world where very few questions are ever answered, but sometimes that’s okay, when a show is as interesting and compelling as this one. In Haibane we gently explore the lives of those who inhabit this strange world. In some ways this story reminds me of Jonathon Livingston Seagull. The Haibane are angel-like creatures with wings and halos who were once human but after being “born” from large cocoons they can’t remember their human lives. They share a small town and the surrounding countryside with normal humans, but all are surrounded by walls which keep them from interacting (for the most part) with the outside world. Rakka is the latest Haibane to be born, waking from a strange dream to find herself struggling to adjust to her new life. The story is slow to develop, but the emotional impact of the final episodes is as profound as any I’ve ever experienced in anime. Some gore. |
| Hakugei: Legend of the Moby Dick (TV) |
So-so |
Other than some character names–but not even many of those–and the fact that there is a white “whale,” this series has almost nothing to do with Melville’s Moby Dick. In fact, the personalities of even those characters with namesakes are completely different from the classic book. On the other hand, it’s kind of a fun series at times, though it has way too many expository narrations. On the other-other hand, there is more nonsense per episode than most anime has in an entire series. Hakugei is set in the far future, where derelict spacecraft are the “whales” being hunted. A young adventurer with ulterior motives signs on with Captain Ahab’s crew. Will Ahab hunt the great white whale again? What do you think? Mostly comic in its outlook in the beginning, it sort of goes serious toward the end. Nudity. Some violence. Potty and off-color humor. |
| Hellsing (TV) |
Good |
Vampires hunting vampires in modern England. Intriguing characters. Arucard is an ancient vampire who is deeply evil and ugly in ways, but also strangely sympathetic. Celes Victoria is a cop who becomes his partner in fighting forces of the dark. And the Hellsing Organization, manned by a handful of other interesting and enigmatic characters, is sponsor and custodian. The series ends with a great many unanswered questions. Interesting nonetheless. Sex and hardcore language. Lots of gore. |
| Hikaru no Go (TV) |
Very good |
Only the Japanese would think “let’s make a series about a kid who plays the game of Go!” And only the Japanese would pull it off too! The premise for this series seemed to me to be entirely too weak to support an interesting story, but I was wrong. Our protagonist Hikaru Shindo gets haunted by the ghost of Go teacher Sai Fujiwara who once was the emperor’s personal tutor. From there it becomes a samurai series, with Go games instead of swords. Like Initial D, the weapons have changed, but the underlying philosophy and worldview are there in force. |
| House of Five Leaves (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Howl's Moving Castle (movie) |
Masterpiece |
Wonderful and brilliant film adaptation of the Diana Wynne Jones book, this is Miyazaki’s best film. A young woman named Sophie is cursed with the body of a crone by the Witch of the Waste and seeks help from a self-centered wizard. The visuals are excellent, the story fascinating and the characters sympathetic and lovingly handled. Moving and heart-warming. |
| Infinite Ryvius (TV) |
Decent |
Take Neon Genesis and Gundam Seed, mix in Lord of the Flies and a bit of Solaris, and you get this series, although it’s better than a simple sum of those parts. Young astronauts in training are unwittingly involved in the attempt to steal a super secret space ship. All of the adults are killed, and the youth have to fight for survival, both against unknown foes, and their own worse natures. Profanity, some gore, violence and implied sex. |
| Initial D (TV) |
Decent |
A series about street racers. Mild mannered high school student Takumi has the talent, genes–and unbeknownst to him, because his father has had him driving tofu deliveries–experience to become a great underground racer. Some profanity. The “best friend” is a lecherous dork, like many sidekicks in this sort of anime (although he becomes a lot more likable as the series progresses). Some sex talk, including a girl who talks about wanting to lose her virginity. As minimal as the plot is, it’s a strangely compelling series. In fact, it is more a samurai series than a racing series in some ways, all about honor and revenge and shame. You could take a lot of the dialogue and drop it unchanged into a samurai tale and never notice. |
| Initial D: Extra Stage (OAV) |
So-so |
This is a side story with the girl racers from the first season. It’s not as action oriented as the rest of the series. Nudity. |
| Initial D: Second Stage (TV) |
Decent |
The story continues. Unlike the first season, however, where the plot seemed pretty straight-forward (learn some things, face a boss, move to the next challenge), the story gets a little more complex. The subplots, however, seem to be focused on going into the seamier side of life, with the protagonist’s girlfriend also having an older man for a sugar daddy. |
| Iria - Zeiram the Animation (OAV) |
Good |
Future bounty hunters. A girl bounty hunter searches for a space monster that may be her brother. Looks vastly superior to the live action films on which it is based. Mild innuendo, some nudity, profanity and gore. |
| Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade (movie) |
Good |
A special forces anti-terror policeman searches for meaning after failing to shoot a girl who blows herself up. He meets another girl, and the plot gets more and more twisted with double and triple crosses. Dark and interesting, this film felt very European to me, though not in the same way Tokyo Godfathers did. Gore. |
| Jing: King of Bandits (TV) |
Decent |
Jing is sort of Robin Hood crossed with Kino. The series is sometimes reminiscent of Ravemaster, but more serious. Jing goes from place to place stealing things, but he usually steals in order to help someone. His sidekick, as is typical, is a lecher–but he isn’t even human, he’s a bird. Yeah, it’s kind of weird. Innuendo, slight nudity, action violence. |
| Jubei-Chan The Ninja Girl - Secret of the Lovely Eyepatch (TV) |
Decent |
A fairly funny series about a girl who is the unwilling heir to the great swordsman Jubei Yagyu. A samurai searches for 300 years to find the girl who fits the description his master left him. When the chosen girl uses the “lovely eyepatch” she turns into a female form of Jubei and is unbeatable. Lots of fun nonsense as she fights the assassins sent by a ninja clan determined to kill her and take the eyepatch. Be aware, however, that a good deal of humor is centered around Jubei’s breasts. There’s also a very weird scene where her father gets completely naked to absorb the mystical fever she is undergoing at one point. |
| Jungle Emperor Leo (special) |
Decent |
|
| Kai Doh Maru (OAV) |
Good |
Can be confusing at times, but still a good movie, though too short. This film is historical fantasy, and there are obviously things which would be clearer to those who understand Japanese history, the political intrigues of the times, etc. The number one thing you need to know going in, though–which I didn’t–is that the main character is a girl (who was raised as a boy, and there were those at the time–in the story world--who didn’t know this fact). Feels less like a typical anime than it does a feature film like Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Other than some of the obviously CG moments, this is a visually striking and beautifully stylized film. Gore. |
| Kamichu! (TV) |
Excellent |
A utterly charming series about a girl named Yurie who wakes up one day to discover she has become a “god” (in the Japanese sense–think Spirited Away) while in junior high school, but who doesn’t know what to make of her situation. Shy and indecisive, Yurie has the “help” of her friends to find out how to fulfill her godly responsibilities–she has the standard long suffering friend as well as a girl who lives at a shrine and decides to make the most of Yurie’s powers. Gentle and fun. |
| Karas (OAV) |
Very good |
Take Power Rangers, ramp it up to turbo speed, turn it into an art film, mix in a good helping of horror elements, toss in more than a dash of Onimusha, and give it Final Fantasy-esque characters and plot, and you have Karas, a very cool OVA anime about the potentially apocalyptic intersection of the demon world and ours. Tokyo is on the brink of disaster as the wall that separates the human and the demon worlds trembles under the onslaught of those who want to seize control of both. Otoha is a human who has been called to fight Mikura (humanized demons who can transform into mech-monsters by consuming human blood). Gore and some grotesque imagery. I've seen the first film of a two-parter (this was actually a six part OVA in Japan, but they’ve cut it together into two features for American release). |
| Kiki's Delivery Service (movie) |
Excellent |
Charming kid’s show about a young girl who is a witch, and has to spend a year on her own. Accompanied only by her cat, Kiki must find her place in the world. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| Kino's Journey (TV) |
Good |
Strange–almost Lain-strange–anime about a girl named Kino who is just a traveler going from one country to the next, never staying more than three days in any one place. She talks to her motorcycle Hermes, which is sentient. More philosophical than plot-driven, with the main character being an odd combination of jaded and innocent. A wide-ranging commentary on the human condition, though mostly bleak and fatalistic. Gore and a dark worldview (at least at times) makes this unsuitable for children. One episode touches on cannibalism. |
| Knight Hunters (TV) |
Decent |
Kind of a Japanese Charlie’s Angels, only it’s a lot darker and it’s four guys who run a flower shop but who are actually skilled assassins who kill bad guys. The animation isn’t very good. The bad guys are all cardboard cutouts, and the stories aren’t all that well written, but there’s something compelling about the main characters and their back-stories. It turns out to be a story about vengeance and uncovering real identities. In the second half of the series the whole thing takes a strange supernatural turn. Very violent, some profanity. |
| Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne (TV 2) |
Very good |
|
| Last Exile (TV) |
Very good |
A visually stunning series, with a well-crafted mix of cell and CG animation. A strange mix of times and places, this is a truly great story of war, intrigue, honor, and dark mystery. Two young friends dream of becoming ace courier pilots, but in the process are caught up in a struggle between various factions, some seeking power, some seeking revenge, and others with more inscrutable goals. A sweeping epic, it’s also a very human story, with real tragedy and loss, but hope as well. Some gore. |
| Love Hina (TV) |
Good |
A nice boy named Keitaro Urashima who promised a girl they would attend Tokyo U together is now grown up, and has failed twice to get into the school and keep his promise. He winds up as the manager of an all-girls dormitory. This series is part of the sub-genre called “Harem” anime. Three’s Company must have made a big impression on Japanese animators, because there’s a lot of this sort of anime–Chobits is at least partially an example of this category, as are the various Tenchi series, and to a lesser degree the different Ah, My Goddess series. Fruits Basket is sort of a gender-reversal form. Unlike Chobits or Tenchi GXP, however, Love Hina is a pretty gentle version. Sure, there’s plenty of bawdy humor, but there’s no nudity, and the risque elements are mostly misdirection (you think something is going to happen, but it doesn’t) and innocent pratfalls (he walks in on someone about to undress, or soaking in the hot springs, and gets punched out for his trouble). |
| Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (movie) |
Very good |
Lupin the 3rd is a much nicer guy in this film than in the TV series. Lupin and his gang try to free a princess from the clutches of an evil Count. There’s quite a bit of profanity in the English dub, hardly anything in the Japanese w/subtitles. A brief reference to being lovers, and some very mildly implied stuff are the only sexually related content. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| M.D. Geist (OAV) |
Awful |
Two short features. A protagonist who is thoroughly unlikable, and stories that are not very well told. A genetically modified soldier leaves an orbital prison and tries to destroy the world. Sort of a metaphor for nuclear weapons. Some nudity–male and female. Gore. |
| M.D. Geist II - Death Force (OAV) |
Awful |
|
| Maburaho (TV) |
So-so |
Take Harry Potter and turn it into a Japanese sex farce and this is what you get. Plenty of fan service and sexual situations. This is Cheers or Friends or any other American sex-centric sitcom, mixed up with magic and Japanese harem anime hijinks. The outlook is pretty innocent however. Our main character Kazuki Shikimori is embarrassed about the goings on, and is usually running away from the girls. (See Aeon Flux as the harsh post-MTV world we have sadly become.) Kazuki comes from a long line of powerful magicians, but can only use magic eight times before he’ll turn to dust. |
| Madlax (TV) |
Good |
Starts out as a kick-butt (sometimes over the top) action series, with a female gun for hire in a war torn country, but slips into strangeness with psychic connections between people and mysterious dead languages that might bring about the end of the world. Intriguing. Implied sex, mild nudity, gore and violence. |
| Mars Daybreak (TV) |
|
Fun series about a terraformed Mars and underwater pirates. With work and food scarce, our happy-go-lucky hero Gram falls in with a band of Robin Hood-style pirates on a ship called Aurora. Some sort of past connects him with one of the military police (a girl) who are hunting them down. Some profanity and fan service. |
| (The) Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| (The) Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV 2009 renewal) |
Weak |
|
| Memories (movie) |
Very good |
Each of the three substories is beautifully animated, but they are a bit uneven as far as content. The only thing that really connects them is that they are all science fiction. The first story, about astronauts responding to a distress signal and finding an abandoned spaceship owned by an opera diva, is the most well done, and is where this compilation gets its name (though the actual title of the story is “Magnetic Rose”), but the last story, about a city whose sole purpose is to fire cannons at an unseen enemy is artistically stunning. Though well animated, I’m not a big fan of the middle story, “Stink Bomb”–it’s not really my sort of humor. Some profanity. |
| Metropolis (movie) |
Very good |
Beautifully animated, this is an interesting story about what it means to be human. A boy and his uncle try to unravel the mystery behind a robot girl, while dark forces pursue and try to destroy her. Some profanity and gore. |
| Millennium Actress (movie) |
Masterpiece |
One of the very best art films I have ever seen. A pair of documentary filmmakers track down the greatest actress of a bygone era who has lived in seclusion for decades. This film is like a coherent Citizen Kane, with the story swirling between reality and the movies the actress starred in, and where the mystery of “Rosebud” lies in an old key. Slightly cheesy ending, but a great film nonetheless. A bit of profanity. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OAV) |
Good |
As is often the case with Gundam, this is a story of conflicted emotions over war and how to define who is an enemy. A boy named Al who loves mobile suits comes across a soldier and his mobile suit hidden in a forest, and agrees to help him. As is often the case with the Japanese, this innocent decision leads to tragedy. This is a decent short series with a good story that feels like it could have been set during any number of real wars. Some gore. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Seed (TV) |
Very good |
Interesting series about a boy named Kira who is on the opposite side of a war from most other people like himself–he’s a genetically modified “coordinator”–and who reluctantly fights to save those he cares about. Lots of intriguing subplots. Very Japanese in its conflicted need for war but desire for peace. Also very Japanese in its look at doomsday weapons. Profanity, gore and implied sex, with a bit of mild nudity. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Special Edition |
Not really good |
If you don’t know the series already, this compilation feature film won’t make very much sense. They added a few things, but mostly sex and nudity. |
| MoonPhase (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Mushi-Shi (TV) |
Very good |
|
| My Beautiful Girl Mari (Korean movie) |
Excellent |
Not actually anime–this is a Korean film–it nonetheless embodies all that is good about anime for me. It’s visually enchanting, an oriental Terry Gilliam film with all the wonder and magic but without the hard edge most of his films have. The plotting could have been stronger (there are definitely tweaks I would have made to strengthen the marble as a connection to another world), but the story is both subtle and yet rich and heartwarming. This is the story of a pair of boys living in a fishing community who have to learn to come to grips with both the beauty and the loss that life brings. A delicate coming-of-age story, with real, living, breathing human beings. Brief–male–nudity. |
| My Neighbor Totoro (movie) |
Excellent |
Wonderful film from Hayao Miyazaki. Sweet, but not cloying. In some ways this feels like Grave of the Fireflies to me, without the tragedy and horrors of war. Two sisters experience the wonder and magic of the Japanese countryside, while their mother recuperates in a nearby hospital. I own both the Fox and the Disney releases. |
| My Neighbors the Yamadas (movie) |
Excellent |
A funny little film from Studio Ghibli. It reminds me in some ways of The Simpsons, and in others of Peanuts. Very episodic, with jokes, mini stories, and anecdotes–some serious some humorous. Touching and funny by turns. A very stylized, cartoony look. |
| My-HiME (TV) |
Good |
Fun series about a girl named Mai Tokiha going to a private school called Fuka Academy and finding out there’s some sort of connection between herself and other girls at the school called HiME who have special powers. They have to fight Orphans, which are a sort of demon, but there are other forces at play as well, with their own agenda for the HiME. Some fairly large plot holes in places, but the story carries you along. There’s a whole lot of fan service, and “perv” humor. Some gore and mild nudity. |
| Naruto (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (movie) |
Excellent |
A beautiful and interesting film set in a post-disaster world of the far flung future. A pacifist warrior princess (only in Japan could you come up with that!) named Nausicaa who lives in a peaceful rural valley does research on the toxic wasteland nearby. She winds up fighting to prevent a war that may destroy everything. Reminded me of Princess Mononoke in some ways. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| Neo-Tokyo (movie) |
Good |
Like Memories, this is a collection of three short films. However, they are a lot more experimental than Memories (though that was certainly an art film as well), with only the barest thread of narrative for the most part. “Construction Cancellation Order” has the most developed story, but it simply drops the narrative rather than completing it. The art is reminiscent of “Stink Bomb” in Memories. All three films are examples of visually stunning animation. The first film, “Labyrinth Labyrinthos” looks how I imagine a Berkeley Breathed animated film would be, with a thin Through the Looking Glass storyline. The director is the same as for Metropolis, and once again shows he has a unique visual style. The second film, “The Running Man,” feels like it belongs to The Animatrix. Which makes sense, seeing as the director did actually do a segment for The Animatrix. Profanity, violence and some gore. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) |
Good |
Interesting, angst-driven series about the end of the world–with big robots. When alien “angels” attack earth, only a group of 14-year-old pilots can stop them. Starts out as a typical big robot series, but veers into much darker territory. The main kid, Shinji Ikaria, starts out as a likable character, but he slowly gets more whiny and more emotionally unstable as the series progresses. Lots of juvenile sexual humor; some profanity and nudity, and sex. Gets really serious, psychological and metaphysical at the end with a post-modern perspective. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (movie) |
Decent |
Death is mostly a retelling/recompilation of the series, but done in an interesting and artistic manner–however, if you haven’t seen the series, you’ll have no idea what’s going on. Rebirth takes the story a bit further, but seems to mostly be a set-up for the final movie ending to the story arc. Profanity, nudity and a bit of sexual behavior. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (movie) |
Good |
Well, if you hope for further clarification of the story from this finale, you’ll be disappointed. It is in many ways more confusing than the original ending, though not entirely so. This film is darker and uglier than the rest of the series. And even though much of the mythos of this series is biblical/Christian in nature, the underlying philosophy is very Hindu. The thing this film does do is bring closure to a bunch of the subplots. A lot of gore, some nudity and sex. |
| Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective (TV) |
Decent |
Interesting series about a vampire who can’t remember his past but protects humans from monsters called the Nightbreed, but not remotely for kids–sex talk, double entendres and a good deal of nudity, with some implied sex. Gore. |
| Ninja Cadets (OAV) |
Decent |
Actually kind of a fun mishmash of Feudal Japan, Mecha, and comedy anime, with some Godzilla thrown in for good measure. Young ninjas in training have as their final test the finding of a scroll left in their clan castle years before when their enemy invaded. One of the three girls is the princess of the clan, but we don’t know which–sort of. It actually isn’t all that hard to figure it out. Seems like it was hoping to turn into a series, and it’s too bad it didn’t, because I would have watched more. Profanity, brief nudity, plenty of gore, and some mild fan service. |
| Ninja Resurrection (OAV) |
Awful |
This show is to be avoided. The distributor tries to make you think it is somehow related to Ninja Scroll, but it isn’t, other than the character of Jubei, and some X-Men style elements. The animation is pretty good, and the story could have been interesting, but this is actually a fairly sick and sickening show, and it seems pretty clear why the OVA was never finished (yes, this is another incomplete series like RG Veda). These episodes also have a strange and very unorthodox view of Christianity. Extremely graphic and ugly violence, and over-the-top gore (which is saying something for samurai anime). Necrophilia and nudity. Avoid this show. Or did I say that already? |
| Ninja Scroll (movie) |
Decent |
A Japanese X-Men, set in feudal Japan, but also a very oriental story in the vein of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A master swordsman and a female ninja must find out the cause of a terrible plague, and stop the evil forces that are attempting to overthrow the government. Interesting, but would definitely be R-rated in the USA for sex and gore. |
| Ninku the Movie |
Decent |
A strange little film–at 30 minutes, I’m not sure why they label it a “movie”–about a group of Ninja’s who can control the elements in some post-disaster world. They have to fight some imposters posing as them, and save a town. One of the group is a really weird looking little kid. The show is okay. Action violence. Gore. |
| Nodame Cantabile (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Noein - to your other self (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Noir (TV) |
Good |
|
| Now and Then, Here and There (TV) |
Decent |
Maybe I’m just being arbitrary, but unlike Barefoot Gen, the contrast between the character designs in this series (which are fairly cartoony) and the serious storyline actually works for me. A boy named Shu from our world and time meets a strange girl at sunset one evening, and when futuristic soldiers show up to capture her he winds up in the farflung (and mostly waterless) future. He is tortured and conscripted into a madman’s army, but never loses his sense of self or his fundamental optimism. This is a dark and ugly series in many ways, but the protagonist gives it a glimmer of light that ultimately redeems it from the horrors of this future world. The main thing that didn’t work for me was the villain, who was a complete cartoon (in personality and behavior), and kept making me wonder why anyone would actually follow him. Gore, brutality, rape. |
| Occult Academy (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Oh My Goddess! (OAV) |
Good |
A fun series about a college kid named Morisato Keiichi, who winds up with a Norse goddess as his constant companion after misdialing the number for takeout. It feels like an American sitcom in a lot of ways, with elements of Mork & Mindy, Three’s Company, and others. A fair amount of risque humor and a bit of profanity. |
| Origin ~Spirits of the Past~ (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Paprika (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Patlabor 2: The Movie (movie 2) |
Decent |
A bit better art and animation than the first film. The story is just as interesting as the first time around. This time, some rogue general decides to teach Japan a lesson about not being a military power, and the Patlabor police have to stop his terrorist activities. I get the impression that if you watched the actual Patlabor series, you’d know the individual characters a lot more, but this second film mostly concentrates on the two commanders, one of whom is a woman and used to be the love interest of the rogue general. |
| Patlabor: The Movie (movie 1) |
Decent |
Police in the future (but it’s actually in the past, by our current date–it’s hard to do scifi that’s in the near future, because we eventually move beyond the chronology in real life) use mobile suits to fight crime. From this hackneyed premise comes a surprisingly compelling drama. In some ways it reminds me of the old 1960s and 1970s television police shows, but the actual story is deeper and more interesting. An engineer-scientist commits suicide but leaves behind a plan to destroy modern society through use of construction mechs called Labors. It’s up to our likable cast of misfit Special Vehicle cops to figure out what the plan is and put a stop to it. It’s a little slow in places, but overall a fun movie. A bit of language and gore. |
| Peacemaker (TV) |
Decent |
Take the kid character from the Samurai X series, make him the main character of his own series, and introduce a whole lot of gore, references to prostitution and homosexuality, cross-dressing spies, and the like, and then you have this series. Sometimes this show is excellent, but more often than not it gets bogged down by it’s own need to be ugly and seamy. It also leaves the realm of historical fiction to toss in supernatural elements at various points. A young boy named Tetsunosuke sees his parents killed right in front of his eyes and swears to avenge them. In order to achieve his aims, he joins a group of ronin who are some sort of special police called the Shinsengumi. Some things don’t make much sense–like a character who likes American things, but doesn’t amount to much in the story. Definitely ends with the possibility of another series. Gore, slight nudity, sexual references. |
| Perfect Blue (movie) |
Decent |
By the director of Millennium Actress, this is a psycho-thriller in the Brian DePalma mode, though better than DePalma. In some ways it feels like Millennium Actress–art film sensibilities attached to a compelling story–but in others it feels more like a Hollywood thriller. A pop singer, Mima Kirigoe, tries to become an actress, but the lines between reality and madness are blurred as she is stalked and people around her are murdered. Profanity, lots of graphic–including full frontal–nudity, simulated and attempted rape, and gore. |
| Petite Princess Yucie (TV) |
Good |
Cute kid’s show, about a girl who is a teen but the size of a child. She becomes a candidate for Platinum Princess, who can have any wish, but there’s plenty of competition. Kind of a Japanese Harry Potter with an all-girl school. Takes a lurch toward traditional Japanese plotting toward the end, and actually might have been stronger, for my taste, if it had ended on the second to last episode. Nonetheless, this is a good series the whole family can enjoy. |
| (The) Pilot's Love Song (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| (The) Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie) |
Masterpiece |
This is an utterly beautiful and brilliant movie. Profound, moving, and deeply human. This is the same director as Voices of a Distant Star, and he is a cinematic genius. Makoto Shinkai is a post-Gundam Miyazaki, not only in his science fictional subject matter (as opposed to science fantasy or pure fantasy), but in his deeper look into the human heart. In an alternate history, Japan is divided between north and south, and three friends promise to travel across the sea and unravel the mystery of a super-tower in the other country. The girl falls ill and disappears, but years later one of the boys tries to keep their promise. |
| Planetes (TV) |
Good |
A misfit band of astronauts protect space traffic by cleaning up orbital debris. This is a fairly interesting and fun series about a feisty young woman who wants to go into space. Her foil is a harsh-edged cynical young male astronaut with a secret dream. There are goofy episodes and serious episodes–with the serious ones being the more interesting. The whole thing becomes progressively serious and philosophical as it goes along. Some references to pornography. Some sex talk. |
| Pom Poko (movie) |
So-so |
The strangest Studio Ghibli film I’ve ever seen. About racoons (actually tanuki, a different animal in Japan that looks something like a racoon) disguising themselves as people to try to stop a housing project. The story isn’t very cohesive, and it is very slow in places. An interesting look into the stranger side of Japanese myth. Some mild references to sex. The racoons–the males anyway–all have very prominent gonads as part their character design. |
| Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (movie) |
Excellent |
|
| Porco Rosso (movie) |
Very good |
A pilot who was the only surviving member of his squadron in WW I and who looks like a pig–which is never completely explained, though we know he didn’t always look that way–flies in 1930s Italy against air pirates, bounty hunters, and others. A funny film, with lots of high flying action. The ending is “different,” but interesting. A lot of great animation here. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| (Le) Portrait de Petit Cossette (special) |
Decent |
An art horror film, with equal parts art film and horror film. Visually interesting, with a story that is both about artists and for artists. A young man named Eiri who works in his uncle’s antique shop falls in love with the image of a young woman he sees in a crystal goblet, and gets utterly obsessed by her. Is she a ghost, a demon, something else? Gore, nudity, intense and grotesque imagery. |
| Princess Mononoke (movie) |
Masterpiece |
Wonderful Kurosawa-esque film set in a fantasy early-industrial Japan. A young man is infected with a curse/disease. On his quest to find a cure, he finds himself caught in the middle of a war between forest creature gods and an industrial town. Plenty of gore, and a bit of innuendo. |
| Princess Tutu (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Project A-ko (movie) |
Not really good |
Similar in ways to Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, though not as funny. There seems to be a subgenre of anime that has superhuman girls, a cutesy but annoying young sidekick, and lesbian implications. Some gore and profanity. |
| Project ARMS (TV) |
Decent |
A high school student finds out that his arm–injured years before–can transform into a super weapon. He meets another kid who is similar, but who wants to kill him. The mystery only grows from there. There turns out to be two others like them. They all are hunted by some secret organization. The mystery of the beginning with its twists and turns settles into a fairly straight-forward “fight and beat the bad guys” plot by the end. The ending also makes it clear there is more to come in this series. Profanity and gore. |
| R.O.D -The TV- |
Good |
|
| RahXephon (TV) |
So-so |
Fascinating series about a boy named Kamina Ayato who lives in a Tokyo of the future that is trapped inside some sort of force field set up by aliens called Mu. He finds himself at the center of machinations by aliens and humans alike to change the balance of power, and must unravel the mystery of who he is. Done by the same studio as Eureka Seven, this is polished and well animated, but lacks Eureka’s sense of humor. It also lacks believable character motivation in places, and has some significant plot holes. It wants to carry on the legacy of Neon Genesis, but doesn’t quite make it at the level of plotting, though it is far more polished, and the protagonist is a good deal more likable and less whiny than Shinji. Mild gore and innuendo. |
| Ranma ½ OAV |
Decent |
A collection of episodes that are better animated than the TV series, but not much more than a further exploration of the Ranma universe and subplots. |
| Ranma ½: Big Trouble in Nekonron, China (movie) |
Decent |
This first feature film takes place (as near as I can tell) after the second season. All of the primary players from the first two seasons have at least a cameo. It feels like an extended episode of the series, with slightly better animation. No nudity, but the panty-stealing dirty old man is here in full force. Mild gore. |
| Ranma ½: Nihao My Concubine (movie) |
So-so |
More fun and games and comic madness with the Ranma gang. This time they do Gilligan’s Island. On the desert isle the girls start disappearing, and it’s up to Ranma and the other men to rescue them. |
| Rayca (OAV) |
So-so |
|
| Rayearth (OAV) |
Decent |
This OVA version is actually an alternate universe from the TV series. Instead of the main characters traveling to the other world, the other world encroaches on ourd, and the girls have to fight bad guys in a Tokyo that is now a disaster zone. |
| Read or Die (OAV) |
Very good |
Fun series with a strange premise–but what else is new? This is anime. Like a cross between James Bond and X-Men, this series takes our unlikely heroine, Yomiko Readman, into action against clones of “historical” figures in a search to retrieve a stolen book and prevent the destruction of mankind. All while fighting insect men and other oddballs, flying in paper airplanes and being a cute, kind-hearted, Japanese book worm, who cares so much for her books you can’t help but laugh. There’s a whole lot that’s not explained about the characters and the organization that they work for (sort of a MI6 for librarians), but it’s so fun to go along for the ride that I didn’t really care. Great animation and art. Slight nudity and some fan service. Gore. |
| Record of Lodoss War (OAV) |
Decent |
Basically a full-blown D&D story set in an anime world–there’s an elf, a dwarf, a magic user, a cleric, etc. Our heroes must fight to prevent the resurrection of an ancient evil deity. Some profanity and a couple of very brief and mild bits of nudity. |
| Red Data Girl (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie |
Weak |
Unlike the series, the movie decides to cross the line into overt lesbianism (which is clearly not the case in the series) and some other weird stuff in various relationships, including incest. The movie is actually confusing in a lot of ways, and would have made even less sense if I hadn’t seen some of the series episodes. For what it’s worth, this feels like something from the Animatrix. The art and animation are superior to the series, but that’s about all it has going for it. |
| RG Veda (OAV) |
So-so |
This unfinished OVA comes from an early CLAMP manga. More than anything else, it reminds me of a Conan movie. The first episode is terribly animated; the second (which by copyright date seems to have been made the following year) is better, but the whole thing, as far as production values, feels like something that could have been made twenty years before it actually was. This is swords and sorcery, with five people trying to find the sixth that a prophecy says will help them bring about the downfall of an evil king and queen. The characters are typical of this sort of anime–which is neither good or bad–and the story was interesting enough to keep me watching, if they had ever finished the series. As it is, these two episodes are all there ever were. Interesting as a look into early CLAMP. Some gore. Also, the version of this anime I watched has some of the worst subtitling I’ve ever encountered, with frequent typos. |
| Rinne no Lagrange: Kamogawa Days (OAV) |
Good |
|
| Robotics;Notes (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| Rozen Maiden (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture |
Good |
A feature film that shifts back and forth between things that happened with Kenshin in the time periods before and after the TV series, although the very earliest tale is in the OVA. This is actually the first Kenshin I ever saw. Gore. |
| Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (OAV) |
Masterpiece |
A masterpiece, this four part OVA looks at the origins of Kenshin, and weaves it all together with a tragic and moving love story. This is–not literally, but spiritually–Akira Kurosawa does anime. This would have been a great feature film, and I’d love to see it done up in style as a live action feature (not that it’ll happen, of course). Far more serious than the Kenshin TV series. Some implied sex, and a great deal of gore. |
| S-CRY-ed (TV) |
Good |
After a disaster, some humans gain mutant special powers, and are known as Alter Users. Our hero, Kazuma, lives in the wastelands of the Lost Ground and is a fiercely independent rascal who uses his powers to try to make a living and protect the little girl who lives with him. The city dwellers send an organization of mutants to hunt people like Kazuma and clean out the wasteland. A serious storyline with some non-serious storytelling make for a fairly entertaining series. Kazuma is an absolute lunatic, but not unlikable. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying, but the series is still enjoyable. Action violence for the most part, with a bit of real violence, and some innuendo. |
| (The) Samurai (OAV) |
Bad |
Like a bad mix of Ranma and Galaxy Fraulein, this show only had one really funny line in it, though it purports to be a comedy. A large helping of nudity, the “humor” is centered on this one off-key (and off-color) note played over and over. |
| Samurai 7 (TV) |
Excellent |
Excellent series based on Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, but set in the future. If you’ve seen Magnificent Seven or Battle Beyond the Stars or Three Amigos or Bug’s Life or Thirteenth Warrior you know the basic premise (there are a lot of remakes and variations on this tale). With new subplots and characters, this timeless tale is once again well worth watching. Great animation, great characterizations, great story. Truly excellent anime. This is one of my favorite series ever. Some profanity and mild sexual references. Gore. |
| Samurai Champloo (TV) |
Very good |
Reminds me of Cowboy Bebop in a lot of ways–not the least reason of which is that it’s done by the same people. I said at one point that Bleach was hiphop Samurai, but this series deserves the moniker even more than Bleach. Set in Meiji Japan, Champloo has great action but too much in the way of adult themes. Let me be clear–this show is not remotely for kids. Still it’s eye-popping and very well done. It has some of the best fighting animation ever. A sword-wielding vagabond named Mugen and a taciturn ronin named Jin escape execution and rather unhappily team up with a misfit teahouse girl named Fuu to find a samurai she is looking for–who smells like sunflowers. The girl–in her character design–reminds me a good deal of Faye from Bebop; but she’s a whole lot more innocent and less jaded than Faye. The vagabond is an iteration of Spike, but less likable–though not completely unlikable, and he definitely grows on you as the series progresses. The ronin is another version of Jet, who was, in many ways the most likable character in Bebop. Like Bebop, we learn more about the character’s back stories as the series goes on. This series is compelling and fun. Slight nudity, lots of sexual situations and lots of gore. Profanity, some of it quite harsh. References to homosexuality (not the main characters). Some of the episodes are truly odd–such as the baseball episode. |
| School Rumble (TV) |
Very good |
|
| School Rumble: 2nd Semester (TV) |
Very good |
|
| School Rumble: Extra Class (OAV) |
Decent |
|
| Scrapped Princess (TV) |
Very good |
Interesting world, interesting characters. A princess, Pacifica Cossul, who it was prophesied will destroy the world is on the run from those who would destroy her. Her bodyguards are her adopted brother and sister. Fun mix of fantasy and science fiction. Light at moments, very dark and serious at others. I’m hoping there’s more to come in this series. Mild gore, action violence, fan service. |
| Seishun Anime Zenshu (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Sengoku Basara - Samurai Kings (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Seraphim Call (TV) |
So-so |
A strange little series of experimental anime films that reminded me more of a grad writers workshop than anything else. All the stories take place in the same city, but really have nothing else in common. I was hoping for something cute along the lines of Saint Tail or Petite Princess Yucie, but that’s not remotely what this series is about. Modern–with an occasional foray into the post-modern–the stories are mostly ho-hum. Slight nudity and some lesbian themes. |
| Serial Experiments Lain (TV) |
Good |
Strange and artsy. A very distinctive anime series in tone and look. Lain is a girl who lives in a world where others seem to know more about her than she does herself. There are a lot of mysteries, twists and turns, and it’s all somehow related to a world wide web called “The Wired.” After a classmate commits suicide, Lain finds that the “real” world and the wired world are strangely connected. Some profanity and gore. |
| Shadow Skill (TV) |
|
This is a series that feels at times like Slayers (especially the main girl character Elle Ragu), but is usually much more serious and traditional in its outlook. I love the warrior ethic this series so sincerely expounds and venerates. Elle and her adopted brother Gau live to fight (in fact Elle has become one of the greatest fighters of all time). At first it’s just fun and games, but a larger political picture eventually comes into focus with the possible destruction of a 2,000 year old kingdom. |
| Shadow Star Narutaru (TV) |
Not really good |
Strange, ugly, nonsensical. From the creator of Lain, this series never makes any sense, with subplots coming and going but never resolving, and people behaving in a variety of bizarre manners. The show is about people, including the main character Shiina, finding “dragon babies” (which look something like alien plush toys), and then becoming able to wield them in ugly and violent ways. Nudity, gore, extreme violence. |
| Shakugan no Shana (TV) |
Very good |
|
| She and Her Cat (OAV) |
Good |
This is a nice little short film, gentle and sweet. There’s no plot to speak of, it’s just a cat’s thoughts about his female master as time passes. |
| She, The Ultimate Weapon (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Silent Möbius (TV) |
Decent |
Alien–demon?–beings are invading earth, and have to be fought by a group of police women with various paranormal powers. Reminds me a bit of Bubblegum Crisis, but with more interesting characters, and no nudity. As the story progresses, it starts to feel just a bit like X. It also gets a lot darker. The ending is rather inconclusive. Mild innuendo and, eventually, a sex scene (you don’t see anything), and some sex talk. Gore. |
| (The) Slayers (TV) |
Decent |
A fairly madcap spoof on sword and sorcery fantasy; obviously a burlesque of Lodoss-style anime. A good hearted, lunk-headed warrior, a vain, smart-alecky, treasure hungry sorcerous, various other oddball characters along the way and cartoony villains. The interaction between the characters is what makes this series fun, as the plot is pretty thin. The animation quality is rather poor, but the story is engaging enough, and there’s some pretty funny stuff going on. Mild gore, cartoon violence, slightly risque dialogue at times. |
| (The) Slayers Next (TV) |
Decent |
Season two, with a slightly different title. More hijinx and mayhem. |
| Spiral (TV) |
Good |
Interesting series about a young man named Ayumu Narumi who lives with the police detective wife of his detective brother who disappeared years before. Ayumu is trying to figure out the mystery of the Blade Children that his brother was investigating. Reminds me of Knight Hunters, but with a better writer and better animation. More cerebral than action-oriented, in the tradition of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle whodunits. It also feels a great deal like a darker Fruits Basket, especially the sidekick girl character. Gore. |
| Spirited Away (movie) |
Excellent |
Beautiful and strange. A very Japanese fantasy about a girl who loses her parents into another world inhabited by Japanese gods and spirits. Her parents have been turned into pigs, and she must find a way to break the spell. Hayao Miyazaki. |
| Spriggan (movie) |
Decent |
Part Indiana Jones, part Kurt Russel’s Soldier, part Star Gate, this film is a whole lot of kick-butt action. Don’t think, just go along for the ride. An elite soldier with a dark past has to prevent evil forces from seizing an ancient artifact that could bring about the end of the world. Some profanity, lots of gore. By the way, a spriggan is an ugly type of faerie with a large head and small body. One account I came across says they cause trouble for sailors. |
| Spring and Chaos (movie) |
Very good |
When it comes to art films, the Japanese can be rightly proud of their contributions to the genre. Spring and Chaos is a stylized biopic concerning the life of Japan’s most famous 20th century poet, Miyazawa Kenji, cast in the guise of one of his own character creations, a cat. While the narrative is not always coherent, that really isn’t the point of this film. Instead, it captures the flavor of both his life and his art. The animation is somewhat uneven, with a mix of methods (much of the CG doesn’t work for me, I find it distracting), but tends to be more than merely serviceable, and there are times when it is breathtakingly beautiful. A small amount of gore in one spot. |
| Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko (OAV) |
Decent |
Japan does The Last Starfighter combined with a bit of Back to the Future, but with girls. Our heroines are taken from our time into the future to fly ships in battles against other girls. The title character is rather brash and obnoxious, but it’s still an okay series. Some brief nudity, fan service, profanity. |
| Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko II (OAV) |
Decent |
The second half od this series. |
| Steamboy (movie) |
Decent |
A fantasy, Jules Verne-esque England where a new discovery in steam power may change everything–and a boy inventor named Ray Steam finds himself right in the middle of various factions trying to control that power. Enjoyable. Action violence. |
| Sword of the Stranger (movie) |
Masterpiece |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! GXP (TV) |
Decent |
Also a funny series, about a boy with really bad luck who lives near Tenchi and winds up joining the galactic police force. There must be a lot of women interested in Earth boys, because there are a whole new set after him. Sexual references (similar to Tenchi, but definitely more pointed) and nudity. The blond airhead from Tenchi is in this one as well, but the other character with the same name (a space pirate) is actually just someone named after the pirate in the other series. The ending is even more harem-ish than your typical harem anime. |
| Tenchi Universe (TV) |
Good |
Funny series about a Japanese boy who is pursued by women from outer space. What starts as a simple cops and robbers chase brings in mad scientists, princesses in distress and a galaxy spanning struggle for control of the universe, with elements of Star Wars. Some mild sexual references, a bit of nudity and profanity. Gets darker and more dramatic toward the end, but actually ends on a fairly light note. |
| Tokyo Godfathers (movie) |
Very good |
Great European cinema–done by the Japanese. Excellent and moving. Three homeless people in Tokyo at Christmas find an abandoned baby and try to find the parents. One of the main characters is a transvestite, and some people might find some uncomfortable moments because of that. Profanity and some violence. |
| Trigun (TV) |
Very good |
A very fun series about a gunslinger–Vash the Stampede–who is a walking disaster. He has a 60 billion dollar bounty on his head. People fear the very sound of his name. Gets progressively darker as the series develops. At some levels it keeps its light edge clear to the end, but it gets quite dark and Japanese by the last few episodes. Some profanity and innuendo. |
| Trinity Blood (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| (The) Twelve Kingdoms (TV) |
Very good |
Interesting series set in a fantasy version of China. After a mysterious man swears allegiance to her, a girl named Youko Nakajima and two classmates are pulled into a world of war and betrayal. Lots of different story threads and great character development. This is Japanese J.R.R. Tolkien, at least in its complexity and large political picture. The ending leaves room for a whole lot more story, should they decide to continue at some point. And there’s a major subplot that is left completely unfinished. Makes you wonder why the anime of a super popular novel series in Japan got the plug pulled. Some gore. |
| Ultra Maniac (TV) |
Decent |
Fun magic girl series, about the adventures of two girls, Ayu and Nina. One is a witch girl sent to our world to find magic gems, and the other is her human friend. |
| Utawarerumono (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Vampire Hunter D (OAV) |
So-so |
Interesting protagonist, a half-vampire hunter of vampires, this is probably where Blade came from. However, the animation is poor, and the story is not very good either. In a distant and medievalized future a girl asks the hero to help her kill the vampire who bit her so she won’t become a vampire herself. Some nudity, sex talk and profanity. Gore. |
| Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (movie) |
Decent |
The main character continues to intrigue. In this tale, the antagonist and the missing maiden are also both interesting. This film feels like Ninja Scroll in many ways. A girl named Charlotte Elbourne is abducted from her home, and hunters are in hot pursuit–but all may not be at it seems. The artwork is far more visually stunning than the original (of course there are 15 years between the two) and the animation is good. The show could have used more development both in the plot and the characters, but it’s pretty good nonetheless. Plenty of gore, some mild nudity and a little language. |
| Voices of a Distant Star (OAV) |
Very good |
This is a brilliant short film, full of humanity, pathos and love. A young girl is drafted as a pilot to fight faceless aliens at the outer reaches of the solar system and beyond, and she and her male friend keep in touch via e-mail. As she travels farther and farther from Earth, the communication takes longer and longer to travel back and forth. A beautiful little movie. Beside the story and artwork that make this a great film, the other important element to be aware of is that this work was created almost entirely by one man. That's not a hobby--that's genius. |
| (The) Weathering Continent (movie) |
So-so |
Typical sword and sorcery–as written by a high school kid. A little Conan crossed with Dune, with some really confusing elements about genders with some of the characters, especially a bishounen magic user. Our heroes are searching for water and stumble across two groups of people trying to find a great treasure in a city of the dead. The end is played like something really dramatic happened, but I just went “huh?” I’m still confused about that ending. The animation is pretty good, but the story is a mess. Some gore, brief nudity. |
| Whisper of the Heart (movie) |
Excellent |
A wonderful film from Hayao Miyazaki about a girl named Shizuku growing up and learning her own worth. Heartwarming, touching and sweet. |
| Wild Cardz (OAV) |
Decent |
Cutesy girls with super powers and names that come from a deck of cards battle somebody–we’re never quite sure who–flying around in chess mecha. Decent animation and art, lots of cartoony action. I wonder about these OVAs that only have a few episodes. Were they trying to get a series off the ground? Mindless entertainment–but it was entertaining. A bit of nudity and some fan service. |
| Witch Hunter Robin (TV) |
Excellent |
This falls into a genre somewhere between Night Walker and Knight Hunters, with a helping of Hellsing for good measure. Great character design and animation (usually), though I’m not a fan of mixing obvious CG with cell animation (but this certainly isn’t even remotely the worst of that sort of show). Robin is a girl raised in a convent in Italy who returns to Japan–where she was born–to help hunt witches. The story gets more convoluted (in a good way) as it goes along. It starts out a little slowly, but it winds up being fascinating, and qualifies as one of my favorite anime series. Gore |
| Wolf's Rain (TV) |
Very good |
Interesting series in the animal-disguised-as-human tradition of Japanese myth. In a post-apocalyptic world where humans mostly live in isolated cities and wolves are supposed to be extinct, our heroes seek the flower maiden who will lead them to paradise. Goes very Japanese toward the end, and the very end itself is open to viewer interpretation. Great animation and art, interesting characters and story. Some very moving emotional moments. Brief mild nudity. Gore and profanity. |
| Wolf's Rain (OAV) |
Very good |
Really just the last few episodes of the series. The comment above about the ending is actually talking about these OVA episodes. |
| World War Blue (TV) |
So-so |
|
| X (movie) |
Very good |
Made before the series, rather than a boiled down movie created from the series (like some anime movies are, such as Gundam Seed). The art is similar in both, but not the same, and some characters are radically different. Based on the same Clamp story, it’s interesting to see how very different the two versions of X are. The main plot line is the same, but the devil is in the details, and the details are radically different in so many ways I’ll make no attempt to list them. The endings, in particular, are quite different. Still good, but I prefer the series. Nudity (much more than the series) and gore. |
| X (TV) |
Masterpiece |
A great series, set in Tokyo at the time of Armageddon. A boy with a tragic past must decide between the dragons of heaven or the dragons of earth–and in so doing will decide the fate of all mankind. Great characters and subplots. Some profanity and gore. Some slight sex talk–one of the main characters is a prostitute–and a cut-to-black sex scene. |
| xxxHOLiC (TV) |
Excellent |
|
| xxxHOLiC the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream |
Very good |
|
| Yu Yu Hakusho The Movie: Poltergeist Report (movie 2/1994) |
Good |
Another short “movie” like Ninku, this is a story about our heroes rescuing the lord of the spirit world. It’s okay, but doesn’t feel much different than a normal episode. |
| Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie (movie 1/1993) |
Decent |
Without having seen the series, the story is a little confusing, but you can still get by. A king of darkness tries to reestablish his kingdom on the earth by destroying five seals, and our heroes have to stop him. |
| Zakuro (TV) |
Very good |
|
