Anime
Anime is becoming more and more popular outside Japan. Distributors like Madman in Australia have realised this and are producing dubbed and subtitled versions anywhere from months to years after their release in Japanese. I still believe that it is best watched in Japanese (with English subtitles), as often the English voices don't match the characters particularly well. Many bilingual anime fans will provide subtitles well before the distributors have their products ready. These days a large number of successful manga series are adapted for anime.
This page is a record of the anime that I have enjoyed, in alphabetical order (English titles). I make no promises that you will enjoy it, and I refuse to try to categorise these, as there are now so many variations used.
- Blood: The Last Vampire, Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Saya, the last remaining original vampire, works for a secret organisation on an American Air Base in post-WWWII Japan, just before the Vietnam War.
Short, with little plot development, this almost feels like one episode of a series. The blend of CG and hand drawn artwork uses light and shadow very well to enhance the action. It's a bit bloody at times, but I enjoyed it.
A live action version is planned to be release mid-2008.
- Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children, Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue
This CG movie is set two years after the events of the console game, Final Fantasy VII. Children are becoming sick with a new disease, geostigma, somehow related to the remains of Jenovah. Cloud Strife and friends search for a solution, while villians try to resurrect Sephiroth.
I had not played the game, so on the first viewing, the plot did not make much sense. The graphics and music were enough to get me hooked, so I read the background, familiarised myself with another Final Fantasy game to see how plots and characters develop, and then re-watched the movie. This time I enjoyed it a lot more. In many places the music drives the action beautifully.
- Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within, Hironobu Sakaguchi
- Geneshaft, Kazuki Akane
While investigating a mysterious ring artifact that appeared between the Earth and the moon, a massive energy blast from the ring destroyed a space station and damaged Earth's surface. The genetically engineered human crew of the prototype mecha, Shaft, and the spaceship, Bilikis, search for the origins of the alien technology, and attempt to stop further destruction.
A little short for an anime series, the combination of CG and hand drawn animation is action packed. There is not much story or character development, but it was still enjoyable.
In 2065, scientists Aki Ross and DoctorSid and a military squad attempt to free Earth from an invading race of phantom-like aliens who arrived within an asteroid. Humans have moved into protected cities because these phantoms are deadly when touched. Aki Ross rases for a peaceful solution against the General Hein who plans to destroy Earth along with the original meteor.
The CG animation is incredible, and as my first glimpse of the Final Fantasy franchise, it was a stunning treat. The plot is deeply philosophical and carried well by Elliot Goldenthal's score. After having seen more of the Final Fantasy franchise, this movie very obviously has a different feel, although the depth of characters and story is similar.