Its nearly Christmas time again, which means trees and holly, lights and
good cheer, and of course, presents. Every year, people set out in search of
the perfect present for one another and what better gift to get someone than
an obscure Japanese foreign film? Japanimation, or Anime, is a highly
diversified genre of Japanese film, and spans all categories from comedy to
drama to adult themed material (hentai). Anime isn't the goodie goodie
cartoons on television in America, but tends to exhibit ethical complexity;
to the simple stupid good guys vs. bad guys of western cartoons. Most of it
is aimed at more mature audiences and as often as not, contains various
amounts of cursing, violence, and/or nudity. Through anime, one can learn
about experience or depending on how sheltered one is, like I was, can be
thrown in headfirst to the colorful Japanese culture. Submitted for your
approval here are a few series form each category of film that I recommend
as a good gift for anyone who likes anime, wants to experience something
new, or those two failing, anyone who has a pulse.
Comedies.
Comedies are one of my favorites. They are almost always amusing and
somewhat slapstick, though the good ones (the ones I recommend) have a high
re-watch value. One series I highly recommend is El Hazard, by Pioneer
Animation. El Hazard is the story of the adventures of a Cross-Dresser, and
Alcoholic, a Lesbian, and a Megalomaniac (that bit got your attention I'll
bet) in an enchanting Arabic-styled tropical world. The series is 4 tapes,
and is one of the few that I recommend the dubbed version over the
subtitled. The animation quality is excellent and the plot while mostly
humorous, has some action and a little romance, too. This is my favorite
series and everyone I've shown it to has loved it.
The other series I suggest is Photon. The first episode is called "The Idiot
Menace," which pretty much sums up the entire series, as two groups of
dunces vie for the secret of ultimate power in the galaxy on the planet
Photon, which looks suspiciously like earth from space. Its a great series
of 6 episodes, three tapes, and it even takes a hilarious shot at Microsoft
at the end. I recommend this subtitled. I havent seen the dubbed version,
but dubs are generally not as good and this one even has a joke or two with
the subtitles if you can catch them. This series and El Hazard are what got
me hooked on anime.
One last series I give a thumb up for is Ranma½. Ranma is the story of a boy
who turns into a girl whenever he gets wet with cold water. He is betrothed
by his meddlesome father to Akane, the daughter of his father's friend. Its
a romantic martial arts slapstick comedy and is one of the biggest anime
series in America. The dubbing on it is very good, but the downside is that
towards the later episodes (after season 3 ended) characters are replaced
with new voices because the old ones quit (One became one of the females
(the doctor?) on Stargate SG-1, or so I've been told). Also, the series is
very long (a.k.a. expensive to own it all) and is not entirely out in
America yet and the characters never grow or mature, so towards the end it
gets kinda dull. Despite all these down points, Ranma is still a very
amusing story, and I'd recommend the first 3 seasons to anyone... those are
the best anyway.
Adventure.
Mononoke Hime, released in America as Princess Mononoke, was the highest
grossing film ever in Japan until Titanic came along. The plot boils down to
Man vs. Nature as humans and gods, giant forest animals, fight for
dominance. Through it all, a warrior from a distant land struggles to
understand what is happening and falls in love with the warrior princess of
the gods, a human girl abandoned by humans at birth and taken in by the
gods. The plot is fantastic, and the animation is state-of-the-art. I've
only seen the subtitled version, but I'd imagine that the dubbed would be
just as entertaining as it was done by good actors from Hollywood. The
creator of Mononoke Hime is Hayao Miyazaki, and I also recommend anything
else by him.
A movie I'd suggest for fans of planes is 801 T.T.S. Airbats, the story of a
misfit all female show squadron and their one male aircraft technician. Its
an amusing story and has some great aircraft scenes. This movie was done
with the help of the Japan Self Defense Force. Its one tape, three
episodes, and has chicks flying planes. What more could one ask for? Go for
subtitled on this one.
One last series which Im placing in the adventure category, for lack of any
other good place, is the series Rurouni Kenshin. This is a great series that
they are finally releasing in America. It takes place in late 19th century
Japan, 10 years after the revolution the brought down the Edo dynasty and
brought in the Meiji era and with it, Japan's industrial revolution. The
story has some historical background and gives a lot of insight into
traditional Japanese culture. In addition, Kenshin has all the stuff that
makes a good story: sword fighting, mystery, suspense, romance, comic relief
and oh yes, the main character can be described as Ghandi with a sword.
Kenshin is a really good series, but its long, so that means a lot of tapes
(the entire series is 95 episodes, plus some special episodes), but
especially once you get to the second season, Kenshin becomes like a book
you cant put down. Everyone who has seen a few episodes has gotten hooked
(including myself). You want to go for the subtitled version of Kenshin; I
saw some previews for one of the dubbed versions before it came out and it
was absolutely awful (it was called Samurai X, so avoid it like the plague).
The other dubbed version, released as Rurouni Kenshin I have no clue about,
but the general rule is subtitled is better so try it at your own risk.
Romance.
Romance is very important in Japanese culture and almost any anime,
regardless of what type, will have a little romance entangled with it. A
really (really) good romantic series is "Oh My Goddess!" A lonely college
student accidentally dials a wrong number and a goddess comes to grant his
wish. Thinking it is a joke, he wishes for the goddess to stay with him
forever. This is a great series (yeah, I know, I say they're all great), and
has an awesome line of manga (Japanese comics) that goes with it. This is a
five tape series and when in doubt, go for subtitles.
Another good one is Video Girl Ai (pronounced "i" as in high). This is the
story of another lonely guy who loves this one girl that only sees him as a
friend and asks advice on how to get another guy, who doesnt have any
interest in her, to like her. One day he walks into a video store and the
guy there gives him a Video Girl rental tape (Note that video girls do exist
in Japan. They are young women who are recorded on tape, and they are
supposed to cheer you up or something. Go figure, its a Japanese thing...).
The only difference with this video girl is that she jumps out of the TV and
sets about trying to make him happy. This is another cute and romantic
series. I cant tell you how many tapes it is, unfortunately. The website
says its 3 tapes with 3 episodes on each tape, but people I've talked to
say its 6 episodes (and it is; I've seen it), so I cant tell you how many
tapes there are. Also, go for subtitles and I'll give you a different reason
this time! If you watch enough subtitled anime, you actually start to pick
up bits and phrases of Japanese, so not only are you being entertained, you
are also learning the culture and language, what a great deal!
Drama
Please Save My Earth. A weird title for an odd movie. Its about a group of
high school teens that find that they are all having the same group of
dreams, except they are someone else. They realize these dreams arent
coincidence and they seek to discover who they are in these alternate lives.
Its an interesting movie, and really big in some circles. It is 3 tapes (I
think), and - you guessed it- go for subtitled. (Have you gotten the pattern
yet???)
Detective.
Armitage III. No, this isnt the third sequel, either. Its a cyberpunk
detective mystery that takes place on a colonized Mars. Someone is killing
predominant citizens and they all turn out to be bionic androids which
incidentally, are highly illegal. A bitter detective from Earth is assigned
the case and his partner is a fiery little chick who is a lot tougher than
she looks. It is another interesting movie, 900 one that I went out of my
way to get a copy. Its 4 tapes, and I *think* the dubbing isnt too bad,
but just on general principle, go for subtitled.
Ghost In The Shell. This is another futuristic movie where people often have
computer components to enhance memory and strength, et cetera. The problem
comes when a really good hacker starts hacking people, and one detective and
his partner are assigned to it. An interesting movie, though I'm told its
quite a bit different from the TV series from which it is based. Its one
tape and I've only seen the dubbed version, in which the voice acting is
good.
Hard Core Sci-Fi.
Neon Genesis Evangelion. I'll be honest, I havent seen more than the first
two episodes of this and they didnt do much for me, though I plan on giving
them another try sometime. This is a really big series though, and lot of
people would do quite a bit for a free copy of the entire series. Its a
sci-fi series with big flying mecha thingies, hot chicks, battles, the
works. There is also a most amusing moment in the first two episodes
involving a penguin and some toothpicks, but I won't spoil it for you. This
has several tapes, I think it has around 30-something episodes, though if
you try to hold me to that, I'll deny everything. If you dont know whether
to go for dubbed or subtitled, flip a coin.
Movies That Make Your Head Hurt.
Not recommended for those who hate to think. The less confusing of the two
I'll describe is called Perfect Blue. Its about a pop singer who quits and
goes into acting, and starts getting hate mail from some of her die-hard
fans. A lot of pressure and the fact that shes being stalked, plus events
in her life start to give her an identity crisis. Its weird, and if you
think too hard trying to figure things out, you'll hurt yourself. Its one
tape and according to a friend, who saw the dubbed version at the theatre,
the serious parts are hilariously pathetic because the dubbing is so bad. So
dont say I didnt warn you.
Serial Experiments Lain. I recommend you dont think at all on this one.
Ever. It took me two tries to get through this one. I only got through half
of it the first time before becoming hopelessly lost. It took me a year
before I was brave enough to try it again. Its a VERY good series if you
like to think but be careful, because you can tie your brain into a knot
very quickly. Its about a girl, Lain, who explores the wired, a futuristic
Internet, and starts to discover things about the nature of reality and her
own existence. I wont go on, my head is hurting just thinking about it.
Its 13 episodes, and 4 tapes. I highly recommend this one for anyone who
has a mind, or who thinks they have a bad headache now.
Kiddie Stuff.
I dont watch this stuff very often, so dont expect a whole lot. Kikis
Delivery Service. This is the story of a young witch, who at 13 leaves her
home for a distant city to apprentice for a year. Once she reaches a big
city (shes a country girl), she is having trouble fitting in, but decides
to open a delivery service, since her only real skill (and its debatable)
is flying on her broom. Her cat is really cool. He is the adult type figure
(kinda) and is amusingly sarcastic. Its a cute movie for younger persons
and it is by Miyazaki, the same guy who did Mononoke Hime. I saw it dubbed
and it was good. Evidently, there are several excellent dubbed versions of
this, including one by Disney. Since this video is aimed at younger
audiences, dubbed might be more appropriate.
Well, there you have it, an all-inclusive guide to buying good anime. Let me
note that I am not responsible for any misinformations in this, and so on
and so forth. Generally, there is a lot of good anime out there and a good
bit of bad stuff too, just like in American movies. The advantage anime has
is that if you are like me, youve seen all the good American and British
movies, but anime is a new unexplored collection of some good stuff. Id
also like to mention at this point, that every conclusion on every article
that Ive ever written has sucked majorly. Im just going to end it now,
before it gets worse. I have attached a list of links to the websites of the
companies that release anime in America. Goodbye now, have a Merry
Christmas, good luck, and may the Force be with you.
Links
Viz Video,
Ranma½ - bits of brief nudity
Video Girl Ai - nothing bad I can think of
Please Save My Earth - nothing bad I can think of
ADV Films,
801 T.T.S. Airbats - brief nudity
Neon Genesis of Evangelion - dont know, have watched past ep 2. I *think*
its fairly clean maybe some cursing, possible nudity.
Animeigo,
Oh My Goddess! - very clean, maybe some cursing - does it really matter what
with whats on TV these days?
Pioneer,
El Hazard - brief nudity, cross-dressing, alcoholism, cursing
Armitage III - cursing, violence
Serial Experiments Lain - uhh... mmmm... my head hurts...
Central Park Media,
Photon - nudity, cursing
Manga Entertainment,
Perfect Blue - sexual content, nudity, violence
Ghost in the Shell - cursing, violence
Miramax Films,
Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) - umm... pretty clean cut... Cant think of
anything too bad, also check out
Disney,
Kikis Delivery Service - its G! There are also other versions of this out
there, both dubbed and subtitled
Not sure - Ive seen it out there, but I dont know who is releasing it
Kenshin - pretty clean, its ghandi with a sword, after all - some cursing,
and thats it