And here we go with Part 3 of ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s." If you enjoy reading this, then spread word about it. The more people reading this, the better.
Hayao Miyazaki's latest film is not his greatest, but it is great enough to make it onto the lower half of the list at #40.
Plot Summary (from ANN): A young boy, Sōsuke, befriends a strange looking goldfish whom he names Ponyo. Unbeknownst to Sōsuke, Ponyo is a magic fish who has decided that she wants to live with Sōsuke and the other humans. Unfortunately, Ponyo's decision to give up her underwater life creates a crack in an ancient magic spell, and places the world in danger. Together, Sōsuke and Ponyo must set things right.
After Miyazaki put out what is easily his worst work in Howl's Moving Castle, I began to think that he'd lost his touch. After seeing him return to form with Ponyo, however, I now know that he actually does have some left in the tank after all. Ponyo certainly isn't as complex as a Princess Mononoke or a Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but even so, Ponyo is still a highly enjoyable fairy tale of a film. When Miyazaki is on his game, everything resonates with him, even when his story doesn't have much of an actual plot as in Ponyo. What we get is a delightfully charming story of young romance with a bit of a supernatural twist and terrific (and imaginative) animation. Disney's dub of the film isn't bad either. Save for Tina Fey's grating, inconsistent performance, I didn't have much problem with the dub.
Range Murata art = awesome
Coming in at #39 is Studio Gonzo's last great original anime production, Last Exile. Since then, they have really fallen from grace.
Plot summary (from ANN): In a world that looks like the 19th century with anti-gravity devices, Claus and Lavie are pilot and co-pilot of a Vanship and act as couriers. They become involved with a mysterious mission after rescuing a little girl from a strange star-shaped killing machine. Not willing to let the girl die, they complete the mission by delivering her to the legendary mercenary ship Sylvana, only to become part of the crew as fighter pilots.
To start off, this series is absolutely stunning to watch. This being Gonzo's 10th anniversary work, one can tell instantly that they put a lot of money into making this. The CG still looks pretty good today, the animation during the flight and battle sequences is terrific and the Range Murata character designs are to die for. Couple this with a great story and you've got a winner. Like many good stories, patience is virtue as the story unfolds very slowly. Many of the characters have a aura of mystery about them as well, so you've got to keep on watching if you ever want to learn more about them. The ending maybe could have been handled a bit better, but overall the experience is an excellent one. It's a good thing FUNimation rescued this series. Otherwise it may have faded into obscurity.
At #38 is a recent, yet relatively unknown work by Shinichiro Watanabe.
Plot summary (from ANN): "What if we just forget about today or the future" A phrase that gives start to a small adventure of two young students, to go anywhere they can in just that one day, to live what they want or just can, to reach the longest distance with only the money in their pockets, to enjoy that day without caring about the rest, just be together. Love is bittersweet, but just for that day lets stay with each other.
This 15-minute short film is one of the many entries in the Genius Party anthology. This one though, is by far the best. It is a low key, yet emotionally potent story about two young lovers who ditch school to spend a day with one another. It is such an honest portrayal of young love that I couldn't help but fall in love with it myself. Especially considering the bittersweet, yet beautiful ending.
The series at #37 is rife with delicious intrigue and scintillating sword fights.
Plot summary (from ANN): During the time when Louis XV still ruled France, a certain woman was found dead in the coffin floating through the Seine river. D'Eon, the woman's brother, determines to search for the killer of his sister, Lia. But there are some strange movements in France. And things become more strange when Lia's soul enters D'Eon's body...
This series is a novel take on a real historical figure: D'Eon de Beaumont, who was a man who believed himself to be a woman and actually dressed like one. In the anime, they have taken this and given it a supernatural twist by having his sister Lia's soul enter his body. When she takes over, D'Eon also undertakes a slightly more feminine appearance. What makes this series so great is the political intrigue and also the sword fights. The series was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (who also directed Rurouni Kenshin) so the excellent swordplay should come as no surprise. The political side of it should also come as no surprise, considering that the series is set in the 18th century of all times. All of the noblility and royalty are either on the side of D'Eon or they aren't (and sometimes which side they are on is ambiguous or they change sides when you least expect it) so not knowing who to trust in the series really adds to the tension. The ending is a bit of a let-down, but only in how the pacing up to that point forced the final episodes to be a bit rushed, making the final wrap up is a bit of a head-scratcher. Still, this series kept me on the edge of my seat from the very get-go up until the very end. Go watch this series if you haven't already.
At #36 is the second of the two Kino's Journey movies.
Plot summary (from ANN): Kino travels to a country divided into two parts: the very clean and peaceful city, closed off from the surrounding wastelands. She meets a little girl in the city suffering from a disease which is constantly being researched. The girl, however, does not know just how the reasearch is being done.
The first Kino movie was not directed by Ryutaro Nakamura (the director of the TV series), so it suffered a bit. Also, it dealt with more of Kino's backstory, which made it a little less interesting than her actual travels. However, the second was directed by Nakamura, and on top of that, Chiaki J. Konaka wrote this one. Whenever these two guys team up, the finished product is always great. I'm not sure if this is an entirely original story, or if it was adapted from the novels themselves, but even so, this ranks of up as one of the best Kino stories. The idea of people protecting themselves from pathogens is nothing new, but the tragic twist in the latter stages of this film is not only heartbreaking, it says a lot about the nature of humanity. If we were ever in a situation like these people, would we do the same thing?
And thus concludes part 3. Ami from Toradora! reminds you to look forward to part 4!
2 comments:
I watched Last Exile on my TV's On Demand cable service & loved what I could watch, but for some reason they skipped episodes & I never finished. It's a shame that Gonzo has fallen off like a certain car company with the initials G & M.
Le Chevalier D'eon was a show that I watched as the final leg of a long journey. I watched Revolutionary Girl Utena & then watched Rose of Versailles because of the similarites (both GREAT shows) & then that lead me to Le Chevalier. I agree, it's a must watch, too bad that like so many anime I've seen the ending felt less than ideal. Also there was tragic death near the end of the series that really broke my heart.
Ironically, I've seen all of Kino's Journey, except for The Land of Sickness -For You-, which was done by my favorite studio. :(
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