Best Anime Movie
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A good movie(which I hagven't see get mentuoned, only read first page) ias
Battle Angel Alita. I really enjoyed that, and many that have been mentioned. Sham, there hasn't been more, as the movie covers very little of the manga, from what I've heard. Must pick them up.
Battle Angel Alita. I really enjoyed that, and many that have been mentioned. Sham, there hasn't been more, as the movie covers very little of the manga, from what I've heard. Must pick them up.
Akira
Steamboy
Howgli's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
My Neighbour Totoro
Kiki's delivery Service
Space Firebird
Pinocchio in Outer Space
Dragon Ball
The Cat Returns
Laputa: The Castle in the Sky
There's others but I can't remember their titles.
Steamboy
Howgli's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
My Neighbour Totoro
Kiki's delivery Service
Space Firebird
Pinocchio in Outer Space
Dragon Ball
The Cat Returns
Laputa: The Castle in the Sky
There's others but I can't remember their titles.
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My top three,
Grave of the Fireflies
Spirited Aawy
Akira
Grave of the Fireflies
Spirited Aawy
Akira
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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
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I liked Akira, but don't see all the praise it's gets. I found the final act to be really boring and dragged out.
Therefore my favourite anime is Ninja Scroll.
Therefore my favourite anime is Ninja Scroll.
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Coincidentally, for the past several months, I've been watching a bunch of anime's. I've never given this genre much attention, & finally decided to start giving 'em a looksee to see what all the hype is all about.
So far, these are my faves:
5. Spirited Away
Really cool childlike fairytale visuals with a level of creativity that reminds us why mythic tales fascinated us so much during our young ages, yet with enough of a few dark undertones to keep the interest of that part of our spirits that were crushed by the reality of becoming an adult. Fantasy fun with a slight twist of macabre for the whole family.
4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
A simple story of a simple girl who discovers that she can simply leap thru time. But instead of using her powers for good, or even for evil for that matter, she uses it in a manner that we all wish we could if we were so magically endowed (especially if we were her age): to make up time when we were late, to retake exams we didn't study for, to get to our favorite snacks in the fridge before our annoying little siblings got the chance to polished 'em off, etc..
Which all leads up to a simple coming of age story that is as simply & beautifully told as it is simply & beautifully animated.
Simply put, simply beautiful.
3. The Animatrix
Many years earlier, I watched a movie called Heavy Metal. And though it lacked the technical & story skills required to make it something really worth mentioning, I did see in it a potential for an interesting anthology series whose rock'roll/sci-fi/animated integrated format was bound by neither PC rules or those that result from the kid-targeted genre.
Then came the Animatrix & showed us (well...me, at least) what that potential could look like.
2. Appleseed Ex Machina
So far, the most updated amazing animation in any animated feature.
Simply put, the computer-generated visuals in this film truly have to be seen in order to be believed.
However, even though the story is solid, as the sci-fi epic that Appleseed's visuals aspire to be, it does lack some originality in it's plotline. It is this reason, combined with the indistinguisnness of the faces (as is usually common for most 3-D anime) that prevented this movie from taking the number one position of this list.
That said, the technical details & intricate designs in Ex Machina are some of the most striking ever to be generated on film. Iron-Man's armor looks like it was created by Fisher-Price compared to the hardware that these guys are wearing.
A true marvel to behold.
1. Akira
My first look at anime. Well, kick @ss anime that is.
When I first saw this, I realized that, if I didn't have to work, I would spend all of my time lookin' up at what those crazy asians were concocting on the animation tip, yo.
These are ones that are on my waiting list to see (a couple I've already started watching but haven't finished yet)
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Princess Mononoke
- Grave Of The Fireflies
- Metropolis
- Vampire Hunter D (Of what I watched so far, I'm really digging this one)
So far, these are my faves:
5. Spirited Away
Really cool childlike fairytale visuals with a level of creativity that reminds us why mythic tales fascinated us so much during our young ages, yet with enough of a few dark undertones to keep the interest of that part of our spirits that were crushed by the reality of becoming an adult. Fantasy fun with a slight twist of macabre for the whole family.
4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
A simple story of a simple girl who discovers that she can simply leap thru time. But instead of using her powers for good, or even for evil for that matter, she uses it in a manner that we all wish we could if we were so magically endowed (especially if we were her age): to make up time when we were late, to retake exams we didn't study for, to get to our favorite snacks in the fridge before our annoying little siblings got the chance to polished 'em off, etc..
Which all leads up to a simple coming of age story that is as simply & beautifully told as it is simply & beautifully animated.
Simply put, simply beautiful.
3. The Animatrix
Many years earlier, I watched a movie called Heavy Metal. And though it lacked the technical & story skills required to make it something really worth mentioning, I did see in it a potential for an interesting anthology series whose rock'roll/sci-fi/animated integrated format was bound by neither PC rules or those that result from the kid-targeted genre.
Then came the Animatrix & showed us (well...me, at least) what that potential could look like.
2. Appleseed Ex Machina
So far, the most updated amazing animation in any animated feature.
Simply put, the computer-generated visuals in this film truly have to be seen in order to be believed.
However, even though the story is solid, as the sci-fi epic that Appleseed's visuals aspire to be, it does lack some originality in it's plotline. It is this reason, combined with the indistinguisnness of the faces (as is usually common for most 3-D anime) that prevented this movie from taking the number one position of this list.
That said, the technical details & intricate designs in Ex Machina are some of the most striking ever to be generated on film. Iron-Man's armor looks like it was created by Fisher-Price compared to the hardware that these guys are wearing.
A true marvel to behold.
1. Akira
My first look at anime. Well, kick @ss anime that is.
When I first saw this, I realized that, if I didn't have to work, I would spend all of my time lookin' up at what those crazy asians were concocting on the animation tip, yo.
These are ones that are on my waiting list to see (a couple I've already started watching but haven't finished yet)
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Princess Mononoke
- Grave Of The Fireflies
- Metropolis
- Vampire Hunter D (Of what I watched so far, I'm really digging this one)
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Last edited by TheMightyCelestial; 04-12-11 at 02:42 AM.
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^^ Great choices, I suggest giving Satoshi Kon a go...
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Spirited Away.
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One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them..."
The Lord of the Rings
"One Ring to rule them all,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them..."
The Lord of the Rings
Just a quick update.
Since my previous post,
I have seen a bunch more of these types of films, & so far,
these are some additional favorites:
Princess Mononoke
Eastern folklore & environmental symbolism meet head on, anime style, in this richly textured & complicated fairy tale.
Even though I enjoyed this as a fantasy movie featuring mythological beasts & forest gods, gremlins & spirits, but one which focuses more on the adult sensibilities of it's viewers, I probably would've liked it a bit more had I not been so distracted by the heavy accented (& IMO, the miscast) voices of Billy Bob Thornton & Minnie Driver in the English dubbed version.
Grave Of The Fireflies
To be honest, I was never a big fan of animation that told stories that could've told as a live action film. To me, it always felt like if you had the unlimited tools of animation at your disposal,not using it to go into realms of the "too fantastic" for the real world (like a sci-fi, the talking animals genre or what have you) or use it to distort features or creatively caricature it's charaters and/or elements of the story to enhance the plot's premise. Therefore, even though I heard alot good things about Fireflies, I held off on it for a while before I finally got around to watching it. As it started, I felt the same blase feeling that I usually get from such a feature. But as the movie progressed, I did find myself eventually surrendered into a story that untraditionally seemed more to center on victims of war that it does on the basic heroic (& according to formula, usually triumphant) struggles of war.
Though there have been countless tales of the human effects of this period in human history, this movie is reminder that for those lives that eventually become reduced to numbers in the tolls of such conflicts, each one of those numbers is an individual story that essentially, at best will be forgotten, or more typically, will never even be told.
Steamboy
Katsuhiro Ōtomo's follow-up to his landmark feature, Akira.
Some of the tightest integration between CGI & 2-D animation on film.
The detail in this movie is just about about perfect, and it's English language version was treated exceptionally well, so that the dialogue flows alot more smoothly than the translations that are found in most other anime films.
Multiple viewings are required to just capture & appreciate all the beautifully intricate designs.
Plus, one of my favorite things about Steamboy, is the way that, even though the human figures are still drawn in the typical manga style, there's still a strong more western "realism" to the caricature element to their design, that it adds alot more weight to their forms. The end result is that it allows them to integrate into the multi-dimensional visuals so that their simplicity is not so overwhelmed by the deeply designed backgrounds.
Memories
A trio of animated shorts that I like basically for the same reasons that I like other films like Heavy Metal (a personal fave as a kid) & The Animatrix.
I really enjoy the format of an anthology, because, as it is demonstrated here in Memories, it allows for a wider choice ideas of stories that probably wouldn't be big enough to fill up an entire movie.
It also allows for a bit more risk in the creativity of the plot, without having to commit all the time of work that it would take to make a full length feature that is dependent on the tastes of a wider audience. I think that the combination of animation & anthology really open the potential of new horizons that could be done not just with the medium of "cartoon movies", but also with it's integration into storylines that engage as well as entertain even those of us who grew out of this stuff a long time ago.
Since my previous post,
I have seen a bunch more of these types of films, & so far,
these are some additional favorites:
Princess Mononoke
Eastern folklore & environmental symbolism meet head on, anime style, in this richly textured & complicated fairy tale.
Even though I enjoyed this as a fantasy movie featuring mythological beasts & forest gods, gremlins & spirits, but one which focuses more on the adult sensibilities of it's viewers, I probably would've liked it a bit more had I not been so distracted by the heavy accented (& IMO, the miscast) voices of Billy Bob Thornton & Minnie Driver in the English dubbed version.
Grave Of The Fireflies
To be honest, I was never a big fan of animation that told stories that could've told as a live action film. To me, it always felt like if you had the unlimited tools of animation at your disposal,not using it to go into realms of the "too fantastic" for the real world (like a sci-fi, the talking animals genre or what have you) or use it to distort features or creatively caricature it's charaters and/or elements of the story to enhance the plot's premise. Therefore, even though I heard alot good things about Fireflies, I held off on it for a while before I finally got around to watching it. As it started, I felt the same blase feeling that I usually get from such a feature. But as the movie progressed, I did find myself eventually surrendered into a story that untraditionally seemed more to center on victims of war that it does on the basic heroic (& according to formula, usually triumphant) struggles of war.
Though there have been countless tales of the human effects of this period in human history, this movie is reminder that for those lives that eventually become reduced to numbers in the tolls of such conflicts, each one of those numbers is an individual story that essentially, at best will be forgotten, or more typically, will never even be told.
Steamboy
Katsuhiro Ōtomo's follow-up to his landmark feature, Akira.
Some of the tightest integration between CGI & 2-D animation on film.
The detail in this movie is just about about perfect, and it's English language version was treated exceptionally well, so that the dialogue flows alot more smoothly than the translations that are found in most other anime films.
Multiple viewings are required to just capture & appreciate all the beautifully intricate designs.
Plus, one of my favorite things about Steamboy, is the way that, even though the human figures are still drawn in the typical manga style, there's still a strong more western "realism" to the caricature element to their design, that it adds alot more weight to their forms. The end result is that it allows them to integrate into the multi-dimensional visuals so that their simplicity is not so overwhelmed by the deeply designed backgrounds.
Memories
A trio of animated shorts that I like basically for the same reasons that I like other films like Heavy Metal (a personal fave as a kid) & The Animatrix.
I really enjoy the format of an anthology, because, as it is demonstrated here in Memories, it allows for a wider choice ideas of stories that probably wouldn't be big enough to fill up an entire movie.
It also allows for a bit more risk in the creativity of the plot, without having to commit all the time of work that it would take to make a full length feature that is dependent on the tastes of a wider audience. I think that the combination of animation & anthology really open the potential of new horizons that could be done not just with the medium of "cartoon movies", but also with it's integration into storylines that engage as well as entertain even those of us who grew out of this stuff a long time ago.
Last edited by TheMightyCelestial; 04-12-11 at 02:40 AM.
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I've only ever seen two:
Akira
Ghost in a Shell
They were both pretty good. I would say I prefered Akira of the two.
Akira
Ghost in a Shell
They were both pretty good. I would say I prefered Akira of the two.
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End of Evangelion.
GITS.
GITS.
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read all previous posts and here are some suggestions I strongly recomend that havent been mentioned yet I think,(sorry if some have.)
A Tree Of Palme ,
Origin ,
Brave Story ,
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ,
Escaflowne - A Girl In Gaea ,
Metropolis ,
Summer Wars ,...
and to those who enjoyed Princess Mononoke and/or Spirited away and/or Howl's Moving Castle, I strongly recomend other movies from Hayao Miyazaki;
Laputa:Castle in the sky,
Nausicaä of the valley of the wind,
Future Boy Conan (1978 a series)
...his other films are as good but are less about adventure and mysterie and stuff.
There is also the verry nice Tales From Earthsea, from Goro Miyazaki,Hayao's son,it has a verry strong storyline,and it has a more "serious" overal feel in comparison with Hayao Miyazaki's films (thats imo)
For those who enjoyed "Grave of the fireflies" I strongly suggest "My Neighbour Totoro" from Miyazaki,less realistic but is also verry touching and beautifull.
A Tree Of Palme ,
Origin ,
Brave Story ,
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time ,
Escaflowne - A Girl In Gaea ,
Metropolis ,
Summer Wars ,...
and to those who enjoyed Princess Mononoke and/or Spirited away and/or Howl's Moving Castle, I strongly recomend other movies from Hayao Miyazaki;
Laputa:Castle in the sky,
Nausicaä of the valley of the wind,
Future Boy Conan (1978 a series)
...his other films are as good but are less about adventure and mysterie and stuff.
There is also the verry nice Tales From Earthsea, from Goro Miyazaki,Hayao's son,it has a verry strong storyline,and it has a more "serious" overal feel in comparison with Hayao Miyazaki's films (thats imo)
For those who enjoyed "Grave of the fireflies" I strongly suggest "My Neighbour Totoro" from Miyazaki,less realistic but is also verry touching and beautifull.
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Last edited by Skip; 05-31-10 at 07:12 AM.
This a another one that I've watched since my last post & really enjoyed:
Sword Of The Stranger
This particular anime movie displays alot of the same drawbacks that I find in most manga movies as far as the somewhat distant emotional appeal of the characters that has a tendency to be part of this genre. But the action sequences in SOTS are definitely some of the best I've seen in 2D animated form. Very smooth & successfully executed in a manner that make 'em flow with a visual energy that the viewer can follow without any confusion of what just happened (as is the case with many of today's action films, animated or not).
Also, I like how this film shows that manga stories are starting to evolve in a manner where even the secondary characters are not just throwaway characters simply to be used as target practice.
Not to mention that despite their fleeting screentime, the abundantly numerous & beautifully "painted" backgrounds were obviously not meant to be targeted to the trash bin afterward.
Overall, a visual treat that effectively displays the direction that the artform that is this medium should be moving.
Sword Of The Stranger
This particular anime movie displays alot of the same drawbacks that I find in most manga movies as far as the somewhat distant emotional appeal of the characters that has a tendency to be part of this genre. But the action sequences in SOTS are definitely some of the best I've seen in 2D animated form. Very smooth & successfully executed in a manner that make 'em flow with a visual energy that the viewer can follow without any confusion of what just happened (as is the case with many of today's action films, animated or not).
Also, I like how this film shows that manga stories are starting to evolve in a manner where even the secondary characters are not just throwaway characters simply to be used as target practice.
Not to mention that despite their fleeting screentime, the abundantly numerous & beautifully "painted" backgrounds were obviously not meant to be targeted to the trash bin afterward.
Overall, a visual treat that effectively displays the direction that the artform that is this medium should be moving.
Last edited by TheMightyCelestial; 04-12-11 at 02:38 AM.
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This a another one that I've watched since my last post & really enjoyed:
Sword Of The Stranger
This particular anime movie displays alot of the same drawbacks that I find in most manga movies as far as the somewhat distant emotional appeal of the characters that has a tendency to be part of this genre. But the action sequences in SOTS are definitely some of the best I've seen in 2D animated form. Very smooth & successfully executed in a manner that make 'em flow with a visual energy that the viewer can follow without any confusion of what just happened (as is the case with many of today's action films, animated or not).
Also, I like how this film shows that manga stories are starting to evolve in a manner where even the secondary characters are not just throwaway characters simply to be used as target practice.
Not to mention that despite their fleeting screentime, the abundantly numerous & beautifully "painted" backgrounds were obviously not meant to be targeted to the trash bin afterward.
Overall, a visual treat that effectively displays the direction that the artform that is this medium should be moving.
Sword Of The Stranger
This particular anime movie displays alot of the same drawbacks that I find in most manga movies as far as the somewhat distant emotional appeal of the characters that has a tendency to be part of this genre. But the action sequences in SOTS are definitely some of the best I've seen in 2D animated form. Very smooth & successfully executed in a manner that make 'em flow with a visual energy that the viewer can follow without any confusion of what just happened (as is the case with many of today's action films, animated or not).
Also, I like how this film shows that manga stories are starting to evolve in a manner where even the secondary characters are not just throwaway characters simply to be used as target practice.
Not to mention that despite their fleeting screentime, the abundantly numerous & beautifully "painted" backgrounds were obviously not meant to be targeted to the trash bin afterward.
Overall, a visual treat that effectively displays the direction that the artform that is this medium should be moving.
Perfect action, great story,good characters.worth a watch!
Last edited by Skip; 05-31-10 at 06:47 AM.
I'm sure many would agree with me that princess mononoke is a visually stunning film with the masterful art and beautifully colored backgrounds of traditional Japanese animation drawings. One of the best out from studio Ghibli.
Also other people rightfully listed Grave of the fireflies a film which has a deep sense of humanism.
Also other people rightfully listed Grave of the fireflies a film which has a deep sense of humanism.
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Last edited by Tianyang Li; 05-31-10 at 10:06 AM.
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I'm sure many would agree with me that princess mononoke is a visually stunning with the masterful art and the beautifully colored backgrounds. One of the best out from studio Ghibli.
Also other people rightfully listed Grave of the fireflies a film which has a deep sense of humanism.
Also other people rightfully listed Grave of the fireflies a film which has a deep sense of humanism.
(Ive once read somewhere that Princess Mononoke had more succes than E.T. at the time of its release...in Japan I believe)