Anime Classics

Whatever anime you like!

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marto_motoko
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Post by marto_motoko »

Can't really say that much has ever moved me outside or Serial Exeriment Lain, Saikano - She: The Ultimate Weapon, and the two movies for Vampire Hunter D, and then Blood: the last vampire.


Obviously also Ghost in the Shell. I will however suggest Jin Roh. A very beautiful touching love story. ( In a twisted sort of way)
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AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

I actually love JIN-ROH. And I liked BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE an awful lot. I didn't mention them because I wanted to recommend some really good anime I hadn't seen discussed. (GUNSLINGER GIRL was referenced, but it really, really had an impact on me, so I thought I'd mention it again.)

I left out other things- AKIRA, MEMORIES, ANGEL'S EGG, Satoshi Kon's work, all of Studio Ghibli's product, WINGS OF HONNEAMISE, NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER, GILGAMESH, VENUS WARS, BLUE SEED, SILENT MöBIUS, NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD (based on a really amazing book), TEXHNOLYZE, EVANGELION, FLCL, RAHXEPHON, MACROSS PLUS, KAI DOH MARU, REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU, OTOGI ZOSHI, X (the movie and series), EARTH GIRL ARJUNA, THE HAKKENDEN, BLACK HEAVEN, DOOMED MEGALOPOLIS, COWBOY BEBOP, SAMURAI CHAMPLOO, KAKU RENBO, LAST EXILE, GARZEY'S WING...

And sure, of course, VAMPIRE HUNTER D...

And, sorry folks, but I loved METROPOLIS and got choked up at the end...

APPLESEED (the CG film, although I loved the old OVA)...

A nifty Korean animated film, MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL MARI (I know, not technically anime, but still)...

I'm probably forgetting some stuff (or deliberately editing my memories for the purpose of discussion, as I should be getting back to what I was doing in the real world).

But my original list was meant to draw attention to some stuff that really moved me in a good way.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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base of the pillar
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Post by base of the pillar »

And, sorry folks, but I loved METROPOLIS and got choked up at the end...
I liked the plot of Metropolis fine. I just wasn't partial to the Felix the Cat aniation style.
"And if we spirits have offended think but this and all is mended. That you have but slumbered heree while these visions did appear."--A Midsummer Night's Dream

History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.
AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

I liked the plot of Metropolis fine. I just wasn't partial to the Felix the Cat aniation style.
That's entirely fine. The character animation/design reminded me of the Osamu Tezuka manga- and I guess that's the point, as Rintaro, the film's director, worked on Tezuka's ASTRO BOY back in the 1960s, and as Otomo (who wrote METROPOLIS's screenplay) also wanted to pay tribute to the deceased manga-ka. Otomo's script changed the manga's story quite a bit, but not for the worse, I think, as the tale feels dated in many ways (prologue with cute dinosaurs, cuddly sabretooths, and unconvincing cavemen plus futuristic posse of Mickey Mouse lookalikes plus awkward racial stereotypes in a morality tale about peace and tolerance= dated, or at least WAY too much for this reader). If the film reminded you in some way of older American animation, I think that's actually a testament to the filmmakers' success in paying tribute to the master, as Tezuka was himself influenced by Disney, Kelly (POGO), Sullivan/Messmer (FELIX), and Fleischer (I have a soft spot for his version of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, which I've watched often since childhood, and I adore BETTY BOOP).

I like Tezuka lots. He was a groundbreaking artist, and he had a profound influence on a lot of artists and fans. Tezuka certainly changed my life. His ADOLF is a chilling narrative that falls pretty short of Spiegelman's MAUS: A SURVIVOR'S TALE and Satrapi's PERSEPOLIS as comic art, but it's well worth reading. I think the manga-ka's BUDDHA compares favorably with Hesse's SIDDHARTHA. And I love KIMBA THE WHITE LION and ASTRO BOY more than I can articulate. But I'm not a purist, so the changes to his story didn't bother me, and I dug the homage.

I liked the fusion of REALLY-old-school-looking characters and CG settings; I thought the creators found the right mix of retro and futuristic styles. Same with the soundtrack; I enjoyed the way old blues and jazz numbers bounced off the visuals. The use of the Ray Charles number was great, it slew me without mercy, but I was also moved by some other touches. Take the foreshadowing and poignant irony behind "St. James Infirmary Blues." When Kenichi saw Tima, lit from behind, standing alone on a rooftop and staring into the sky like some earthbound angel stupified by gravity and the human condition, that song played, and it pained me. "I went down to St. James infirmary/ I saw my baby there/She was stretched out on a long white table/ So cold, so fine, so fair." Given Tima's artificial origins and ultimate fate, that moment pains me A LOT when I watch the film.

But that song's given me chills since I first heard it.

Did I enjoy METROPOLIS? Yep. In fact, I'd argue it's a pretty darned cool movie- and that it has more going towards its becoming a classic anime than many releases of the last several years, including some of the titles I mentioned. Greatest anime ever? Nah, and I wouldn't say it was. Is METROPOLIS worth seeing? Sure. Absolutely. Especially if you LIKE stuff like Felix the Cat and Sleeping Beauty and Kimba. Is METROPOLIS to everyone's taste? Nope.

But you didn't dig it? That's cooler than Antarctica with me, Usul. Everyone's got likes and dislikes, and I don't find it bothersome in the least if somebody's aesthetic sensibility differs from mine.

(By the way, have you ever met anyone who quoted Tleilaxu Doctrine in casual conversation, or seen an online post praising the Butlerian Jihad? Just curious.)

And thanks for bringing up Felix the Cat, the wonderful, wonderful cat. My first smile of the day. I think I'll have THAT tune stuck in my head today...

:lol:
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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Jeni Nielsen
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Post by Jeni Nielsen »

base of the pillar wrote:
And, sorry folks, but I loved METROPOLIS and got choked up at the end...
I liked the plot of Metropolis fine. I just wasn't partial to the Felix the Cat aniation style.
Heh that means you are not a fan of Osamu Tezuka at all. That's sad :)

His characters are very much like early Disney. I like them, but I understand it takes some getting used to. It is far from what most people consider to be "typical" anime style. You just have to give Tezuka credit for basically inventing the comic that led to the show that created anime. :)
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Elmo
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Post by Elmo »

Just seen Metropolis and I think i would have enjoyed it had i been alot younger. The plot points and characters have all been done before and in more depth. :| loving the retro stylings though. :)

it's getting hard to come up with something worthy of the classics list that hasn't already been mentioned (so forgive me if previous mention of some of these has slipped by me).

feel free to tell me how wrong i am about these ones, they are a little odd;

'Grave of the fireflies' - a story focused on two children who survive an american carpet bombing in WWII Japan. Rather than descending into the anti-american/anti-war views that colour similar works, it stays with the personal tradgedies of the two orphans. It's made all the sadder due to being in part autobiographical. If the ending doesn't move you you're dead inside :P

'street fighter II' & 'street fighter alpha' - I know they're the animation equivilent of a steven segal film and the plots are flaky at best. But the fight animations in both cases are just awesomely unique and entertaining (which is afterall the most important thing in storytelling, no?)

'Samurai7' - yet another rip off of 'the seven samurai'. But I like it. :P
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AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

I think I agree with you, Elmo, w/r/t Metropolis. But as I said, I don't know what Otomo and Rintaro could've done with the characters and core ideas without gutting the entirety of the original manga. And they couldn't have called it Tezuka's Metropolis with a straight face, had they done that.

(And I'm not that young... much to my regret. :lol: )

And I kind of liked the labor/student uprising turning on the robots when the humans should've been more concerned with the State/company. That's something in the movie that wasn't in the manga, and it's something not often seen in films. How divisions among the governed help the status quo or rulers...

Not a new idea, but it was done well, and I liked both the student activist and the robot cop... It worked for me. And I don't think we see that sort of thing enough in films. In most movies, everyone who's exploited by the system just gets together and forms a rebellion. And the rebellion works, and folks live happily ever after. Or you have the villainous traitor who wants the benefits of the ruling class, or is happy with the way things are, or whatnot. So I dug the misdirected rage in this film.

Not a big fan of the Streetfighter stuff. Yes, the fight scenes are cool, but... I dunno. Not my bag, as folks say. Still, that franchise offers better videogame-inspired product than, say, the Resident Evil films. :lol:

Can't comment upon the Samurai Seven series, as I've only seen the first episode. I think it's more a Seven Samurai homage than a rip-off, though, as the folks who created the show have said in interviews that they wanted to pay tribute to the original movie.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
RealFact#9
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Post by RealFact#9 »

I just watched this DVD called Memories that has 3 episodes of short stories. The Episodes are called Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, and Cannon Fodder. It's presented by Katsuhiro Otomo, who is the director of Akira. I'm not sure it's a classic, but I enjoyed it very much.

I also just watched Perfect Blue. So, which is the real Mima?
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GhostLine
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Post by GhostLine »

RealFact#9 wrote:I also just watched Perfect Blue. So, which is the real Mima?
she had some real issues, didn't she? :lol:

i loved Paranoia Agent
RealFact#9
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Post by RealFact#9 »

She had volumes my friend, volumes. And yet it was all still believable. Like the line about how she didn't want to dissapoint anyone by saying she didn't really want to do it. It was great that the movie was left open as well.
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simon's ghost
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Post by simon's ghost »

Just finished watching "paranoia agent" too. A good series, but could have ended half way through in my opinion. I just felt like the whole second half was just the set-up for another "big-terrible-thing-taking-over-everything" ending. Typically japanese/anime.
Oh well.
AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

simon's ghost wrote:Just finished watching "paranoia agent" too. A good series, but could have ended half way through in my opinion. I just felt like the whole second half was just the set-up for another "big-terrible-thing-taking-over-everything" ending. Typically japanese/anime.
******POSSIBLE SPOILERS********

I thought about the show as a metanarrative about/parody upon the whole fandom and technological and consumer fetish stuff, and a pretty (darkly) funny warning-- a cautionary tale-- about where certain types of obsessions, distractions, and evasions (people endlessly talking on cell phones and text-messaging each other when there are folks around them; kids wanting to be Number One and to have a perfect image; geeks wanting an "ideal" rather than a real woman; the lack of communication between husband and wife; a prostitute's "work self" invading her real life; a dirty cop seeing himself as a stereotypical "lone wolf" character and finding temporary satisfaction in acting out horrible scenes from a violent manga; other people seeking escape through role-playing games, Internet chatrooms, anime, cute little mascots, even catgirls) can lead. A reality breakdown...

And then there's the obsessing-about-your-job thing...

So I took the "big-terrible-thing-takeover" as a kind of satire and parody. Using the cliches of anime against anime, if that makes sense. This was kind of foregrounded in the "Mellow Maromi" "behind the scenes of an anime show" episode-- which used some of the hoariest and silliest of "you-can-do-it!" kid's programming cliches in its episode-within-the-episode, show-within-the-show. All while Shonen Bat hunts down the animators and staff...

The "big terrible thing taking over everything" struck me as sort of funny, an extension of the action figures (nurses and catgirls and bespectacled techie girls, oh my!) talking to the younger cop when he's become, erm, a kind of superhero/fantasy hero ("We'll help you. Meow!") and of the older cop retreating into an idealized past. Which in turn goes back to the fantasy role-playing game stuff with the kid the cops take into custody, and the otaku fantasizing and moaning about the action figure/doll when he's with the prostitute, and the episode about housewives, rumors, lowercase-r romantic narratives, and urban and folk legends...

When reality offers foks too much or too little, people ignore it or live in/for idealized worlds or create almost mythic systems of belief... and stuff gets weird in the real world. The series just allows those imagined worlds to bleed into our own-- and run amok.

A lot of the show is about folks not communicating in any meaningful way, escaping from or evading reality. (Including suicide and suicide clubs... I loved the "Happy Family Planning" episode.) Seems to me that most of the plot and subplots are variations on those themes.

The "big terrible thing" is the snowball effect of a lot of little things...

So I think there's some irony in the final invitation to watch the series again from the beginning...

I liked the show lots.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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simon's ghost
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Post by simon's ghost »

I watched a short called "kai doh maru" recently and it was the most horribly boring, badly written, badly directed piece of ?%&* that I've seen in a while! If you watch it anyway don't say I didn't warn you.
Oh well.
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simon's ghost
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Post by simon's ghost »

I thought I'd try to compile everything we've come up with so far.

I left out the series (I think), because I felt perhaps they should be considered seperately. They're not all classics after all I guess...more like recommendations.

Millenium Actress
Perfect Blue
Spirited Away
Voices of a Distant Star
Princess Mononoke
Howl's Moving Castle
Macross Plus the movie
Macross
Goshogun: The Time Etranger (aka Time Stranger)
Patlabor films
Blood the Last Vampire
Ghost in the Shell
Jin Roh
Steamboy
Akira
Project A-ko
UY2: Beautiful Dreamer
My Neighbor Totoro
Cowboy Bebop movie
Ninja Scroll
Black Jack
Vampire Hunter D
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
The Place Promised in our Early Days
Wings of Honneamise
Grave of the Fireflies
Tokyo Godfathers
Armitage, the 3rd
Armitage, Dual Matrix

I hope I haven't left out your favorites, it was just a bit of quick cut & paste...
Oh well.
AlphonseVanWorden
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Post by AlphonseVanWorden »

simon's ghost wrote:I watched a short called "kai doh maru" recently and it was the most horribly boring, badly written, badly directed piece of ?%&* that I've seen in a while! If you watch it anyway don't say I didn't warn you.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I think I mentioned on the previous page that it was one of my favorites.

I wish it had been longer, or turned into a series or feature-length film...

Oh well.

I realized I'd probably be in the minority on that one.

Nice cut-and-paste, btw. Although I'd add Arcadia of My Youth and Roujin Z... :wink:

I can't express the importance of the former, and the coolness of the latter.
Such is the soul in the body: this world is like her little turf of grass, and the heaven o'er our heads, like her looking-glass, only gives us a miserable knowledge of the small compass of our prison. - Bosola, in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi
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