Dragging Myself to 400 Anime: Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space

I find it hard to improve on D. M. Dutcher’s brilliant review of this weird movie.  (Click here to read it.) The story occurs in a futuristic setting where one company, CATTY & Co., has gained a monopoly of almost all the products on Cat Earth.  Tamala becomes bored with Cat Earth and seeks here home planet, located within the Orion constellation.  She gets shot down by an evil postman spy of CATTY & Co. before she can reach her destination, leading to her adventures in Hate City.  These involve a young cat named Michaelangelo, a perverted police dog, a zombie professor, and a certain goddess with a squid tattoo.

Dragging Myself to 400 Anime: Tales from Earthsea and Venus Wars

You notice that I’ve decided to modify this series’ name because of the slow progress your humble blogger has made.  At present, I’ve seen six anime in sixteen days.  Life has the unfortunate ability of messing with one’s desires–be they as simple as writing a series of posts.  In any case, I have included two reviews into a single post, and I am happy to say that both films were well worth watching.

Tales from Earthsea (2006)

Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro had the honor of directing this fantasy adventure.  Many elements feel exactly like your usual Studio Ghibli film, except that the film is both darker and more down to earth than a film directed by Hayao Miyazaki.  One gets this sense despite the medieval setting, the use of magic, and dragons.  I almost imagine this father and son pair of directors like the central figures of Raphael’s School of Athens: like Plato, Hayao points to the heavens, but Goro, like Aristotle, keeps his arm level, as if saying that we should create more realistic tales.  This attitude was somewhat refreshing in a Studio Ghibli film. Goro has some way to go in perfecting this style, but now I want to see his Up from a Poppy Hill and Sanzoku no Musume.

Examining Old School Anime: Windaria

Here’s a link to my latest post on Beneath the Tangles.  Enjoy!

Examining Old School Anime: Windaria and Just War

Shared from WordPress

I’m not the biggest fan of One Piece, but the following article describes what makes it a worthwhile series better than I have seen elsewhere.

One Piece and the Meaning of Legacy – http://wp.me/p2qD59-1J2

10 Days to 400 Anime: Garakowa

Here we are at my fourth film in this series as I work my way to 400 anime titles.  I should perhaps rename this series as there is no way that I’ll finish this series of posts in ten days–real life has a way of mucking up one’s plans!  But, I shall eventually post on all of these movies and even a little on the present season.  *Spoilers from here on*

As good as the characters and animation in Garakowa are, nothing so impressed me about the film as the courage of its message.  Many might have missed it, but my mind has been preoccupied by this idea of late, as you may guess from my post on The Wind Rises.  This idea is that we are witnessing the demise of cultures through depopulation.  What a sad age we live in where so many people have not the smallest inclination to perpetuate themselves!

10 Days to 400 Anime: Patlabor the Movie

It’s been a couple of days since I last posted.  Long serials always prove difficult for me.  At last, here is my post on Patlabor the Movie.  Let me tell you off the bat that this movie impressed me.  The action sequences are good.  The characters were portrayed in a realistic manner: not overly exuberant or cartoony.  Also, the plot was very intelligent without becoming boring.  (See Sky Crawlers for a very intelligent yet boring film.)

10 Days to 400 Anime: Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo

Lupin III: The Secret of Mamo stands as one of those films which may simply be described as fun.  The villain’s plot bears an amusing resemblance to the later Read or Die OVA.  Both films show the use of clones, and the villain desires to perpetuate himself at the expense of the rest of mankind.  However, here is a case where the earlier version of a story fails in respect to a later rendition, since ROD succeeds on more levels.  But, there are still plenty of reasons to watch The Secret of Mamo.

10 Days to 400 Anime: Windaria

Still having computer problems, but your humble blogger shall attempt to bypass them through using his newly acquired Kindle Fire.  (A very cheap $50 for what it does.) Blogging on this shall prove less vexatious than using a cell phone and will suffice for the time being.

At any rate, I have decided on Windaria to be my first movie of the series.  This fantasy displays some great animation and offers the audience a poignantly tragic anti-war tale; though, considering how many mistakes were completely avoidable and unnecessary, I don’t think that they carried their point.  Our story begins with Izu and his wife, Marin, selling their vegetables in the capital city of Itha.  While in town, a saboteur attempts to flood this city by opening the dikes.  (Itha is very reminiscent of Holland with its dikes and windmills.) Izu thwarts this plan, but receives scant recognition at the court of Itha for saving their capital, which will lead to Izu’s easily being taken into Paro’s, the enemy country’s, service.  The court learns from the captured saboteur that Paro employed him, and they begin to take measures for their defense.

Computer Problems and Anime Movies

Well, my dear readers, it behooves me to tell you that I ran into some technical difficulties with my laptop, which will result in the delay of my “10 Days to 400 Anime” series. To be precise, I spilled hot cocoa on the keyboard. Fortunately, a computer savvy friend of mine says that only the keyboard needs replacing. Still, that won’t arrive until the 11th at the earliest. So, you won’t be seeing any new posts from me until then. (Unless, I go crazy and decide to write another post with my cell phone.)

Of the movies featured in the poll, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and Windaria stood out as the clear winners.  The next five shows tied with three votes a piece.  So, I simply selected the ones I liked best: Tamala 2010: Punk Cat in Space, the Gintama movie, and Tales of Earthsea.

Auf Wiedersehen!  I’ll write another post when I have an operational computer.