Japanese anime is the name for animated movies, often based on Manga the Japanese graphic novel. The artwork for both animation and books is terribly appealing but it can be daunting when approaching anime for the first time. Therefore it is not surprising you have turned to an anime reviewer.
There is no better time to get into this movie genre as Studio Ghibli's The Tale of Princess Kaguya has just been nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. This movie is due for general release in the cinemas on March 20th 2015 in the United Kingdom. As a reflection of the popularity of anime in the West, Lucy Liu and James Marsden are amongst some of the actors doing the voices for the animation.
Tokyo based, Studio Ghibli is a great starting point for anime, as they produce Japanese style animation but catered for the Western audience. There are so many cute movies from this studio, including My Neighbour Totoro (1988), a personal favourite, which tells the story of two sisters Satsuki and Mei who move to a new house and are entertained by wood spirits, one of which, Totoro is a large, bear-type creature who you will wish was real.
A more recent SG contribution is Ponyo, released in 2008, which follows the adventures of a little gold fish who wants to become a human girl. She befriends a little boy, Sosuke, who takes care of her. It is a truly heart-warming tale, with some super-cute animation.
However, never fear, it's not all cute and girly. A classic supernatural anime is the 37 episode series, Death Note. This was available on TV in 2006-7 and is now on DVD. We follow the adventures of over achieving student Light Yagami who discovers a supernatural notebook dropped by a Shinigami, a god of death. By writing a name in the book and a method of death in the book, Light is able to execute criminals as well as anyone else who gets in his way of creating a utopian world. This series inspired by manga book series, and has even resulted in a live-action movie.
Ghost in the Shell, is another hard-hitting crime series, which started as a graphic novel series. In 1995 a movie of the same name was produced, and then like Star Trek, a number of spin offs arose including Stand Alone Complex (2002) and Arise (2013). In 2015 there is another instalment of this latter spin-off.
A novice interested in Ghost in the Shell has a lot of back story to catch up on. But essentially the franchise follows a specialised police force, known as Public Security Section 9, who solve a number of crimes exacerbated by cyber criminals, corruption and all the expected complications.
It can be difficult in the United Kingdom to identify anime movies or TV series to watch as they are not on general cinema release; other than Studio Ghibli which is not everyone's cup of tea. There are websites that provide a round up all the latest releases, like the www.animenewsnetwork.com but whether these will be available in your area is something you will have to check. However, the effort you put in will be repaid in entertainment hours.
There is no better time to get into this movie genre as Studio Ghibli's The Tale of Princess Kaguya has just been nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. This movie is due for general release in the cinemas on March 20th 2015 in the United Kingdom. As a reflection of the popularity of anime in the West, Lucy Liu and James Marsden are amongst some of the actors doing the voices for the animation.
Tokyo based, Studio Ghibli is a great starting point for anime, as they produce Japanese style animation but catered for the Western audience. There are so many cute movies from this studio, including My Neighbour Totoro (1988), a personal favourite, which tells the story of two sisters Satsuki and Mei who move to a new house and are entertained by wood spirits, one of which, Totoro is a large, bear-type creature who you will wish was real.
A more recent SG contribution is Ponyo, released in 2008, which follows the adventures of a little gold fish who wants to become a human girl. She befriends a little boy, Sosuke, who takes care of her. It is a truly heart-warming tale, with some super-cute animation.
However, never fear, it's not all cute and girly. A classic supernatural anime is the 37 episode series, Death Note. This was available on TV in 2006-7 and is now on DVD. We follow the adventures of over achieving student Light Yagami who discovers a supernatural notebook dropped by a Shinigami, a god of death. By writing a name in the book and a method of death in the book, Light is able to execute criminals as well as anyone else who gets in his way of creating a utopian world. This series inspired by manga book series, and has even resulted in a live-action movie.
Ghost in the Shell, is another hard-hitting crime series, which started as a graphic novel series. In 1995 a movie of the same name was produced, and then like Star Trek, a number of spin offs arose including Stand Alone Complex (2002) and Arise (2013). In 2015 there is another instalment of this latter spin-off.
A novice interested in Ghost in the Shell has a lot of back story to catch up on. But essentially the franchise follows a specialised police force, known as Public Security Section 9, who solve a number of crimes exacerbated by cyber criminals, corruption and all the expected complications.
It can be difficult in the United Kingdom to identify anime movies or TV series to watch as they are not on general cinema release; other than Studio Ghibli which is not everyone's cup of tea. There are websites that provide a round up all the latest releases, like the www.animenewsnetwork.com but whether these will be available in your area is something you will have to check. However, the effort you put in will be repaid in entertainment hours.
About the Author:
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