Porco Rosso, (Crimson Pig in Japanese) is the sixth anime film by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 1992, about an Italian World War I fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing “air pirates” in the Adriatic Sea. The man has been cursed, and has been transformed into a pig. Once called Marco Pagot, he is now known to the world as “Porco Rosso”, Italian for “Red Pig.” The animation is loosely based on Miyazaki’s manga Hikōtei Jidai. Continue reading »
Howl’s Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy movie written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, based on Diana Wynne Jones’ novel of the same name. Eighteen-year-old Sophie, who runs her late father’s hat shop, encounters the mysterious wizard Howl by chance. He takes a liking to her, but this attracts the attention of the Witch of the Waste, who has been seeking Howl’s heart for herself. Continue reading »
Cowboy Bebop – The Movie is a 2001 animated film directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto, based on the Cowboy Bebop television series. The original Japanese title of the movie (Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door) is taken from the Bob Dylan’s song of the same name. Continue reading »
Ghost in the Shell is a 1995 anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii; an adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, produced by Production I.G, and written by Kazunori Itō.
The movie begins with Major Motoko Kusanagi spying on a meeting taking place in New Port City. The meeting is interrupted by a Section 6 enforcement team, at which point Motoko kills a foreign diplomat in the meeting who is attempting to transport an important programmer out of the country. Continue reading »
Vampire Hunter D, 1985, is one of the first anime films released outside of Japan and remains a cult classic in the English-speaking world. Billed by the Japanese producers as a “dark future science-fiction romance”, Vampire Hunter D is set in the year 12,090 A.D., in a post-nuclear holocaust world where a vampiric Nobility terrorizes human peasants. Continue reading »
Only Yesterday is the sixth film by critically acclaimed director Isao Takahata and produced by Studio Ghibli. Based on the manga of the same title by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone, tt was released in 1991. The ending theme song is a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom’s composition “The Rose.”
Only Yesterday is significant among progressive anime films in that it explores a genre traditionally thought to be outside the realm of animated subjects, in this case a realistic drama written for adult, particularly female audiences. In spite of its subject matter, the film was a surprise box office success, attracting a large adult audience of both sexes. Continue reading »
The adventure explodes into action with the debut of Mewtwo, a bio-engineered Pokemon created from the DNA of Mew, the rarest of all Pokemon. Determined to prove its superiority, Mewtwo lures Ash, Pikachu and others into a Pokemon match like none before. Mewtwo vs. Mew. Super-clones vs. Pokemon. It’s the ultimate showdown … with the very future of the world at stake! Also, includes the mini-movie Pikachu’s Vacation and never-before-seen bonus footage! Continue reading »
Bleach: Memories of Nobody is a 2006 animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach, directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Masashi Sogo.
In Karakura Town, unidentifiable spirits begin appearing en masse. While attempting to deal with these strange souls, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki meet Senna, a mysterious Soul Reaper who wipes out most of them. Senna refuses to answer any questions, so Ichigo is forced to follow her while Rukia tries to find out what’s going on. Continue reading »
Appleseed Ex Machina is an CG anime film and is the sequel to the 2004 Appleseed film, similarly directed by Shinji Aramaki, and was produced by Hong Kong director and producer John Woo.
The setting takes place in the year 2133, following World War III, which was a non-nuclear war that killed half the world’s population. The city-nation of Olympus stands as a beacon of hope in a world of chaos and conflict. The utopian metropolis is governed by Gaia, a vast artificial intelligence, and administered by genetically engineered humanoids known as bioroid, whose designer DNA suppresses strong emotions. With bioroids being half of its population, peace and order are easily maintained. Continue reading »
Appleseed is an anime film, directed by Shinji Aramaki and originally released in Japan on May 17, 2004. It is based on the characters created by Masamune Shirow in the original Appleseed manga series that was published in 1985. Although it shares some characters with the original series, this film’s storyline is not connected to it.
Set in 2131 AD, Appleseed stars Deunan Knute, a young, legendary female soldier and a survivor of the Third World War, which brought Earth to the brink of destruction. Continue reading »