Anime

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Who Shot Sam?
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Anime

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Any anime aficionados out there? I just finished watching two episodes of the excellent "Cowboy Bebop" series and am tempted to check out more stuff. Any recommendations?
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bobster
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Post by bobster »

Tim(e) is pretty much our resident Anime expert. I've only dabbled, but I can definitely enthusiastically recommend the works of Miyazaki (can't remember first name right now..."Hideo"??), particularly "Princess Mononoke", "Spirited Away," and "Laputa: Castle in the Sky."

A lesser known film by him -- sort of Miyazaki before he became "Miyazaki" with the Studio Ghibli people -- actually features my all time favorite continuing anime character, Lupin III (he's supposed to be the great grandson of the French pulp-antihero/gentlemen thief, Arsene Lupin). It's called "Castle Cagliostro" and it's a treat. The other films in the Lupin III series -- which was also a TV show -- are mostly a bunch of fun, too, though less heartwarming (only Miyazaki could make an adventure of a zany character like Lupin, who's awfully nice for a thief, but mainly just wants to make money and get laid, that touching).

I also enjoyed the recent "Metropolis" very much. On the other hand, I was underwhelmed by such critical/audience anime faves as "Ghost in the Shell" and "Millenium Actress."
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Thanks bobster. I knew you'd come through. Tim(e), any thoughts?
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

I'd recommend Fritz the Cat, with animation by Crumb - fun for the whole family. :o
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Boy With A Problem wrote:I'd recommend Fritz the Cat, with animation by Crumb - fun for the whole family. :o
\

So, I can just sit the two-year old in front of the TV and walk away? :wink:

Speaking of Crumb, I just saw that documentary they made a few years ago - talk about a dysfunctional family!
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Post by Tim(e) »

I am hardly what one might call an expert on anime (I only have a few anime titles - real film is more my go), but I would definitely second Bobster's recommendation of Hayao Miyazaki's films, or anything from Studio Ghibli for that matter... in particular "Spirited Away", "Grave of the Fireflies", "Laputa, Castle in the Sky", "Nausicaa - Valley of the Winds", "Kiki's Delivery Service", and "My Neighbour Totoro".

Other anime that I like are as follows:

The "Lain" series (4 DVDs in total)
Kazuyoshi Katayama's "Jin-Roh"
Mamoru Oshii's films - "Patlabor 1 & 2", "Ghost in the Shell", and "Avalon" (this is actually live action)
Satoshi Kon's films - "Perfect Blue", "Millenium Actress", and "Tokyo Godfathers"
Katsuhiro Ôtomo's "Akira" which was probably one of the greatest influences on modern sci-fi based anime (and to an extent, film).

Another recommendation, although it is not really anime (but it is based on an old anime), I highly recommend a film by Kazuaki Kiriya called "Casshern". This is live action set over an entirely CGI created background and is, in a word, sensational!! Great storyline, great characters, a visual and aural feast...I cannot recommend this highly enough - the only problem is that it is currently only available from Japan.

There are also a lot of excellent older series (that were around when I was a kid) such as "Astro Boy", "Gigantor", and "Galaxy Express 999" which are all worth checking out just to see how it all began.

As I said, I am no expert and have had limited exposure to anime, but I would say you cannot really go wrong with any of the titles I have mentioned.
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Post by Tim(e) »

Who Shot Sam? wrote:Speaking of Crumb, I just saw that documentary they made a few years ago - talk about a dysfunctional family!
Yeah, Robert Crumb actually comes across as the only sane member of the family!!
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Post by VonOfterdingen »

'Spirited Away' is brilliant and my girlfriend gave me Princes Mononoke for Christmas (she gave me EC tickets for birthday, so i know - she's perfect :D ) Mononoke is pretty wild compared to the former but good in a more non-family friendly way.

I never got the hype about 'Millenium Actress'. I actually think its horrible and gave it a 1 at imdb.

And then there's always 'Akira' of course
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Will definitely check out the Miyazaki films.
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Post by El Vez »

One that I like a lot that might be worth your time to check out is Vampire Hunter D. The recent dvd edition they put out has the subtitled version which, predictably, makes the dubbed version that I watched on a double bill with The Big Lebowski back in undergrad (five guesses as to what else went on that night....) look like nothing.
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Post by bobster »

I'm thinking lots of pop-corn and coca cola, right?
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Post by double dutchess »

I recommend Excel Saga. It's funny and crazy and kind of annoying. And I agree with bobster, Lupin is fun. As for movies, The Cat Returns is cute, which I believe is another Ghibli film.





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Post by bobster »

VonOfterdingen wrote:I never got the hype about 'Millenium Actress'. I actually think its horrible and gave it a 1 at imdb.

And then there's always 'Akira' of course
Well, at least you finished watching "Millenium Actress"! I stopped the DVD about half way through. Just found it plain old tedious. "Akira" was okay, but, maybe because I had read a lot of the original manga, it felt choppy to me.

Getting back to Miyazaki -- I'd only give "Kiki's Delivery" a qualified endorsement. It's cute and sweet, but very laid back in terms of story (a frequent occurence in Japanese films!). I saw the dubbed version, which features voices by several well known actors, including the late, great Phil Hartman as Kiki's cat. Whether or not this makes sense to watch over the original Japanese is interesting. On the one hand, complianing "dubbing" in animation is a meaningless term, since it's all "dubbed" (as are all Italian live action films for that matter). On the other hand, they take liberties.

There is at least one joke in the U.S. soundtrack of "Kiki" said by Hartman that's very funny, but almost certainly added for the U.S. audience (Phil Hartman's cat sees an attractive female cat and purrs, "Hello, Kitty!")

I still need to see "Totoro" and "Grave of the Fireflies"....

And, here's one more, that's hard to find but worthwhile if you want to see something a bit more serious in the "Fireflies" mode, probably. "Barefoot Gen" is based on one of the best comic book series I've ever read -- a comic book from the point of a view of a young boy surviving the bombing of Hiroshima written and drawn by an actual survivor of the bombing. Haven't seen it in years, but if memory serves, it's outstanding, and a good intro to the comic books, which are easier to read than you'd think but also utterly devastating.
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

A friend loaned me the DVD of the first several episodes of "Paranoia Agent", a TV series by Satoshi Kon, who did "Perfect Blue" and "Millennium Actress". I haven't seen either of those yet (mixed reviews here I see), but "Paranoia Agent" is really wonderful - gorgeous detail, a bizarre plot about a series of assaults committed by a boy on rollerblades with a baseball bat, interesting characters (not at all idealized as in some other anime I've seen), lots of unexpected twists and turns. Some real David Lynch-like moments - violence and darkness working its way into seemingly mundane situations.

Oh, and a totally spaced out theme song about mushroom clouds and picnic benches - catchy as hell.
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Post by VonOfterdingen »

bobster wrote: Well, at least you finished watching "Millenium Actress"! I stopped the DVD about half way through. Just found it plain old tedious.
Only because I watch it at a cinema, otherwise I would have stopped 1/3 through. It did not even find it bad in a funny way.
'Paranio Agent' seems cool though
I'm not buying my share of souvenirs
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Post by King of Confidence »

I know zero about anime, although I was enthralled by Spirited Away.

But this is just a public-service-announcement post: the New Yorker has a very long article about Miyazaki this week (Jan 17 issue).
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

King of Confidence wrote:I know zero about anime, although I was enthralled by Spirited Away.

But this is just a public-service-announcement post: the New Yorker has a very long article about Miyazaki this week (Jan 17 issue).
Thanks. I'll check it out. Just watched Rintaro's "Metropolis" this evening and was blown away. What a beautiful film, and it must have been even better on the big screen - absolutely teeming with detail. Great music too.
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Tim(e) wrote:Mamoru Oshii's films - "Ghost in the Shell"
Wasn't crazy about this one, I must say. Somewhat interesting but entirely devoid of humor and lacking in heart. One question that the movie never bothers to answer - why does Motoko strip down naked in the opening fight sequence and at the end? Seems totally gratuitous - not that I'm complaining or anything. :wink:
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Just watched an absolutely breathtaking anime series based on Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" called "Gankutsuou". I can't wait until this gets licensed in the States. Beautiful mix of traditional animation and CG - dark, mysterious, gripping characters and story line. Top-notch stuff and totally original.
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