Where no rating appears, I didn't feel as if I could express my views adequately using a scale with only ten subdivisions.
| Seen all | Rating | Comment |
| 5 Centimeters Per Second (movie) | Masterpiece | Not a single shot, nor an individual piano note lacks the subtle-yet-overwhelming beauty that I've come to expect from Makoto Shinkai. An uncomplicated and unidealised account of the transience of adolescent romances is shown, with Shinkai's ability being more than proven by the fact it is so thoroughly tearjerking. |
| Air (TV) | | An exquisite tearjerker. Luxuriant in its production values, and ultimately a thing of tragic beauty. Early arcs may contain inconsequential (yet still certainly meritworthy) drama -a later section being almost bland - but fans who appreciate a memorable and emotionally purging show are repaid plentifully. |
| Akira (movie) | Excellent | This deserves its reputation as a cult classic. Unique within the medium of anime to the extent that some may be put off by it. Its percussive music always sends shivers down my spine; combining this with its visual splendour makes an unforgettable work. |
| Area 88 (OAV) | Good | Time leaves its mark on the character designs, screenplay and presentation, but such marks of the decade affirm this as a classic action show. Dramatic virtually throughout, with an ending that may not satisfy but certainly resonates, this OAV has a commendable ability to keep a viewer's attention skyward. |
| Armitage III (OAV) | Decent | Passable elements of romance, mystery and action didn't sit comfortably with the less-than-stellar acting, at least that of the English dub. Ultimately it could have left me more attached to the characters despite a strong start. That said, this was quintessentially, deliciously cyberpunk. |
| Armitage: Dual-Matrix (movie) | Decent | Formulaic as regards storyline and the division between heroes and villains, but certainly well paced. Music, action and the English dub pass muster and improve slightly on its predecessor, yet do so without raising the bar too much. |
| Baby Blue (movie) | | To coin a phrase, 'Shinkai-esque' would be an apt way of describing this short. Though it might not justify the purchasing of an entire anthology, the restrained dialogue and fragile intimacy of the film's young couple make for an applaudable quarter-hour. |
| Banner of the Stars (TV) | So-so | A love story on near permanent hiatus. Though I have nothing against large scale space battles per se, the golden moments Jinto and Lafiel shared needed a greater emphasis, even though they consisted of little more than choice exchanges of words. |
| Battle Angel (OAV) | Decent | Manages to tell a complete story within its too episodes. Whilst the screenplay was certainly passable, somehow I feel justice wasn't fully done on a couple of events in the story- they could have had more of an immediate punch. |
| Blue Gender (TV) | | An evolving plotline constructed out of various thrill rides produces a story which, whilst not a masterpiece or an originally-themed work, can still hold its own for entertainment value and encapsulation of the viewer. |
| Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru: Secret Sweethearts - Kono Koi wa Himitsu (OAV) | Decent | To depict a romance under undesirable circumstances may aid it to some degree, yet in practice it hinders it also. The viewer is made aware of the characters' love, and as such I commend it, but more substance was required for me to really feel the sweetness of the couple's time together. |
| Chobits (TV) | Very good | Some nice tender moments here. Towards the end it shakes off its comedic style and becomes more of a drama. The plot isn't too complicated, but it needn't be. |
| Crest of the Stars (TV) | | Focussing chiefly on the relationship between the two protagonists and not space politics and combat avails this series to exhibit subtle character interactions wisely. The romance remained bounded as such, and Jinto and Lafiel's adventure wasn't the most fantastic I've seen, but I'm tempted to watch the sequels. |
| Di Gi Charat (TV) | | There isn't much to say about this. Uneventful and often somewhat odd shorts to while away a few minutes, helping to keep one in touch with one's otaku habits in-between bouts of anime abstinence. |
| Dominion Tank Police (OAV) | Good | Nice and Retro. Whilst not as funny as I was hoping, Buaku's backstory gave this short series an unexpected depth. |
| Egao (special) | | A passable song, with a few of Shinkai's distinctive visuals. Not really special, but not unpleasant. |
| Elfen Lied (TV) | Excellent | The build up to the ending is highly engaging, and the brief (and somewhat sombre) concluding scene give the viewer a sense of what has become of the main characters, yet intentionally leaves their feelings for each other undisclosed.
The violence, moe and infamous "taboo" scene do not detract from the story at all. |
| Eve no Jikan (ONA) | | Pale Cocoon was lumbered by its coldness, but the director's following experiment is laudable for the slight-yet-significant warmth developing between distanced characters. Satisfaction comes easier to the viewer here, provided the hints and implications of the finale are given due contemplation. |
| FLCL (OAV) | So-so | Perhaps the distinct style of this show is where it fails. Certain sequences do certainly try to counteract the abnormal narrative, but cannot amount to much. The show concludes itself adequately but does so without leaving behind much of a sense of endearment. |
| Fruits Basket (TV) | So-so | Transforming animals isn't a particularly deep theme, and as a result I felt like I was plodding through this series. The comedy was mild at best, the music could have been better and the various character monologues were unmoving. Its not fatally flawed, but not nearly as good as I was expecting. |
| Ghost in the Shell (movie) | Good | It's an "art" film. The plot symbolism are tough to fully comprehend, and the film ends abruptly and ambivalently. The Varied scenes flesh this out and the minimalistic style is fitting, when compared to sci-fi of more immediate spectacle. |
| Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (movie) | Very good | In view of its predecessor, this provides closure and ends when it should; the viewer left satisfied. The way the Major protects Batou is subtly romantic, but the visual decadence is where the core of the shows soul lies. |
| (The) Girl Who Leapt Through Time (movie) | Good | It certainly had its moments, and the plotline was conclusive and sufficiently explained. But although the tale was not without some emotional effect, there are certainly films that have touched me more than this. |
| Gunbuster (OAV) | Very good | Managing to overcome a number of aged anime clichés and musical arrangements, this mecha OAV brings with it stirring events on a literally galactic scale. Doing your duty for others at the expense of lengthy time dilation is one of the main themes, and the resulting character drama accompanies the intense sci-fi visuals appropriately. |
| Haibane Renmei (TV) | Very good | This is a gently paced series with a strong feeling of homeliness. The darker elements are handled without the show becoming too dramatic. Although much about the world of the Haibane -and what lies ahead for them- isn't explained, I can appreciate this series nonetheless. |
| Howl's Moving Castle (movie) | Not really good | Original concept with unenthralling conservative ending. Chalk up another win for Mr Miyazaki. |
| Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade (movie) | | Red riding hood becomes thought-provoking here. To come to terms with what Oshii has done is difficult: Instead of fan-pandering and allowing the romance to prevail, it becomes swallowed up by the grim state of affairs that falls upon the film's bleak yet oddly realistic alternative world. |
| Kanon (TV 2/2006) | Excellent | Romantic, tearjerking, heartwarming and very cute. The series blends some serious issues with a persisting paranormal tone. The revelations before the ending make the plotline open to some interpretation, such an arc orchestrating its dramatic crescendo perfectly. |
| Key the Metal Idol (OAV) | Very good | Some aspects of the narrative and antagonists one could point out as flawed. Sparks of often startling introspection, a genuinely engaging protagonist and a terrific, rousing ending grant this gem far, far more than is needed to compensate though. |
| Koi Kaze (TV) | Good | Realism is one thing many series deliberately lack, but it is a realistic approach that this gentle tale nonetheless uses (right to the very end) to handle the subject of socially forbidden love.
The results are a good, solid anime without spectacle or dramatics, but one which did not emotionally absorb me nearly as much as more fantastic titles. |
| Macross Plus (OAV) | | Supported in parts by an initially spellbinding title theme, this OVA comes across as an acceptable yet often bland drama. The stakes aren't as high as in SDF Macross, and the resulting product is quite distanced from the storytelling of the franchise's first series.
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| Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden (TV) | | Restrictions of a limited budget are clear to see here, whilst most narrative comes short of inducing much affection towards the principle characters. In this series' defence, it is one half of a longer story. Alas, little enticement to purchase the concluding section results from watching the opening one. |
| Memories (movie) | | Whilst the latter two films are original and mildly diverting in their own ways, the first film achieves everything I could possibly want from a psychological horror film. |
| Metropolis (movie) | Masterpiece | My favourite anime. A tragic relationship unfolds within a retrofuturistic art deco cyberpunk setting to make a unique, beautiful and possibly timeless piece, respecting Lang and Tezuka whilst being notably dissimilar to both. As the film progresses I feel drawn into its detailed dystopia ever more- the climax scene's unorthodox choice of music ultimately making me cry like nothing else. |
| Midori Days (TV) | Decent | Although the idea is original, the relationship between the main characters would have been better if the romance was reciprocated. |
| Millennium Actress (movie) | | Kon's method of using fiction-within-fiction to form the narrative gives this film vibrancy. Almost comedic at first, the persisting analogy within the scenes eventually brings a mellow sentimentality to the act of reminiscing over a lifelong hopeless hope. Its not as good as some other works, but my appreciation of this may be nurtured with time. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam - The Movie Trilogy | | Having been compressed into a feature-film format causes hefty running times, and an episodic pacing that can't be shaken off. Despite these -along with some flaws in the video quality- a satisfying and somewhat iconic venture into war and honour is presented, with a strong underlying theme of tranquillity following calamity. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OAV) | | Taking a position as close to neutrality as is possible within the One Year War, 0080 juxtaposes a child's naïve fascination of the military against a soldier's implausible plight, resulting in a miniaturised and yet sound drama, which rightly holds its place in Gundam history. |
| Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OAV) | | Though not the greatest of love stories, nor one devoid of its share of clichés, the lead couple become endearing and supportable. The ebbing, flowing plot manages to remain focussed on a simple and elementary theme, without disappointing those with a tolerance for mecha. |
| Neko no Shūkai (special) | | That was quick. |
| Neo-Tokyo (movie) | Very good | A fantasia. A triad of contrasting yet mutually supportive works, each one contributing to a magical mixture of surrealism, horror and enchantment. For arthouse, this may not be surpassable. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) | | Some episodes felt like filler, and some of the "battle" music could have been done without. Nonetheless this is engrossingly deep and introspective, so introspective in fact that the actual ending is impossible for a first time viewer like myself to understand. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (movie) | Very good | This is the harrowing coup de force by which Evangelion reaches its true conclusion. So haunting is the total apocalypse of the individual that this spectacle is perhaps too ultimate, and too powerful. |
| New Dominion Tank Police (OAV) | | An acerebral set of episodes: Basic plotlines, uninspiring villains and plenty of police-related explosions. Still, the madcap antics of the Tank Police remain as oddly charming as ever. |
| Now and Then, Here and There (TV) | | Bloody, tearjerking and bleak are not words I'd particularly use to describe this, contrary to some. The moral stance of the show, along with the narrative, is straightforward, and Lala-ru's character is never fully explained. As a stories of war and exploitation go however, this is a strong and occasionally heartpounding piece. |
| Other Worlds (movie) | | A little short and vague for any substantial judgement to be made here. The imagery is there, but not until She and her Cat does Shinkai's style really begin to blossom. |
| Pale Cocoon (OAV) | So-so | Less of a story, more of an abstract. Direction appears consummate, though where similar works show heart this story fails to shine above its neutral and desaturated palette. The narrative crescendo it reaches thus remains dim. |
| Patlabor 2: The Movie | Good | The sense of orchestrated menace amidst an urban sprawl brings us into the realm of the cerebral terrorist. More akin to GITS than its prequel, this is an exercise in reflection, but should one not extract too much of the commentary from the plot alone, the well furnished visuals compensate. |
| Patlabor: The Movie | Very good | As unfolding mysteries go, this one is hard to beat. The intricacy and intelligence of the antagonist's plan was compelling without being confusing, and the whole film polished off with Oshii's trademark combination of exposition and symbolism. |
| (The) Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie) | | Rich in production values, and more complex (and admittedly more protracted) than its predecessor in screenplay. Though I may prefer Voices of a Distant Star, Place Promised follows after its sister film in reaching a tearfully rousing culmination, aided by an unvaried yet delicate score. |
| Pokemon: The First Movie | Bad | Even as an obsessive Pokémon fan as a child, I couldn't say much positive about this show. By the standards I hold today, what I remember of the film is notably poor. I did get a special promotional card when I saw it in the cinema though, so all was not lost. |
| RahXephon (TV) | Good | Masterful direction often competed with lacklustre here, especially where music was concerned. Ayato's rise to strength and the subsequent ending was arresting, but the show's romantic revelations lay dormant for too long. No pun intended, but the singing/re-tuning theme "struck a chord" with others more than it did with me. |
| Rumbling Hearts (TV) | So-so | Dramatic and ultimately bittersweet it may be, but just not my sort of romance scenario. The premise of the story being a love triangle resulted in it not quite hitting the spot. Narumi had to choose one girl or the other, so a good deal of the tenderness amounted to nothing. |
| SaiKano (TV) | Excellent | I may forget the show's poor lines and stylistic flaws, but not its romantic purity. Such an element endeared right to the surprising and apocalyptic end, pushing the boundaries of bittersweetness almost disturbingly. |
| She and Her Cat (OAV) | | This is Voices in the making. Intelligent, subtly passionate and adorned with visual devices which would go on to characterise the more substantial works of this great director. |
| (The) Super Dimension Fortress Macross (TV) | | Long, without resorting to rendering obsolete any of its content. This fan favourite is unquestionably of its time, just managing to make worthwhile its central love triangle. Though not a romance, or for that matter a sci-fi, that truely shines by modern standards, within it glimmers enough for the patient viewer to warm to. |
| Video Girl Ai (OAV) | | When the direction was of a light-hearted nature the character relationships felt more tangible and inviting than during scenes of drama. At parts it came close to poignancy, yet approached the romance too forthrightly, as evident in the ending. It could perhaps be a sign of age rather than anything intrinsic though. |
| Voices of a Distant Star (OAV) | Masterpiece | Easily the greatest short film I have eve seen. The amount of emotional power packed into its 25 minute running time is staggering when you watch it a second time. Simple, tragic and highly moving. |
| (The) Wings of Honneamise (movie) | So-so | I try my best to like this film. Here and there it is vivid and developed. The score though, along with a slightly disjointed plot and an ending which shuns closure for pure symbolism, alas does not leave the best of imprints upon me. |
| Zone of the Enders: Idolo (OAV) | | What can best be called a conventional mecha environment, bearing resemblance to many of its contemporaries, takes a tragic turn. For a mecha OAV based on a video game, to see such an eventuality is -by its presence alone- refreshing. |
| Will not finish | Rating | Comment |
| Cardcaptor Sakura (TV) | Not really good | I have no idea if the original unedited version of this is any better than the wholly uninspiring dub, but I err towards not finding that out. |
| Castle in the Sky (movie) | Decent | Although the sense of struggle to overcome the blatant "baddie" in the film was engaging, the sky pirates and dialogue limited my enjoyment of this. It is technically my favorite Miyazaki film however. |
| Diamond Daydreams (TV) | | Many of the requirements for a good romance show are met here, and for doing so this show ought not to be looked down upon. Limiting itself to unrelated two-episode arcs restricts the show from achieving its potential however, revoking any reason for me to continue watching it. |
| Excel Saga (TV) | Decent | No real plotlines here, but there needn't be. I got quite a lot of the jokes but some of the references were beyond me. |
| His and Her Circumstances (TV) | | I cannot find fault in the portrayal of the characters' budding relationship. None at all. I find one of the most off-putting devices in a dramatic work to be a continual juxtaposition of comedy against drama, a crime this show committed many a time. |
| Infinite Ryvius (TV) | | The premise seems lumbered great many characters, few of whom I wish to see develop in their predicament. For me to remain riveted by this over 26 episodes would require a drastic change in setting, something I doubt can happen. |
| Kiki's Delivery Service (movie) | So-so | Female protagonist wants to prove herself. What follows may be considered a spoiler: She does. |
| Kurau: Phantom Memory (TV) | | Whilst certainly above average, the episodes seen thus far deal with devices, characters and plotlines that other viewers would appreciate somewhat more than I did. My mild interest simply wasn't nurtured. |
| Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (movie) | | The main character is a thief? Here's me thinking Miyazaki's tales promoted good morals. This one probably does eventually, but I didn't watch it for long enough to find out. |
| Noein - to your other self (TV) | Not really good | Labeling ostensibly magical abilities and occurances as the effects of theoretical concepts within the mathematical sciences seems to be the path taken here. The plot may become something of interest, but the visual styling is not the sort I enjoy. |
| Pokémon (TV) | Weak | Like many others I was caught up in the craze. Nostalgic value is rife in this show, but from an adult perspective very little else is. |
| Pom Poko (movie) | Weak | I am aware of environmental concerns. I do not need to sit through things like this to be reminded of them. If any transforming sentient raccoon with an inflatable scrotum is offended by my lack of heart, please send me a telegram. |
| Princess Mononoke (movie) | So-so | Were it not for the talking animals, assorted spirits, historic setting and environmental theme I would have liked this. |
| Sola (TV) | Weak | A first episode drop. Forced its supernatural elements onto the viewer too quickly, exhibited poor dialogue and suffered from numerous genre clichés. A pity considering the score was decent. |
| Spirited Away (movie) | So-so | Yes, it is original. Yes, the visuals are memorable. Yes, it is deserving of some praise as a family film. No, it is not the be-all and end-all of anime. When one compares this film to the works of other equally talented anime directors, the level to which it boosted Miyazaki's reputation amongst the mainstream UK audience seems disproportionately high. |
| Tanoshii Moomin Ikka (TV) | Not really good | Mentioning this brings me back. Compared to other kids' cartoons of the early 90s I could never help but feel there was something unnervingly strange about the goings-on in Moominvalley. |
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