Top Ten Faves

It's a rainy day outside, but in here, it's all sun, babies. A well charged laptop, a few anime episodes, a Sobe Lean and it's all good. Oh my dears, I have completed my Top Ten list for anime fave anime movies. Now keep in mind these really don't have any special ranking for me and this is my own personal list. Feel free to email me with your own Tops, whether it be 10 or 5, it doesn't matter. Anime lovers unite!

So #1........

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust!

I saw the first Vampire Hunter D and I liked it. Liked it, not loved it. But Bloodlust blew me out of the water. The animation is much stylish and fluid this time around, is set in much brighter tone than D because where the first was really dark and goth, Bloodlust actually has scenes set in the daylight and while I was not completely satisfied with the storyline (I've had more than a few arguments about it), I can say that overall this is one of the better anime movies thus far. Bloodlust introduces a few new characters which is always a good thing and develops the character of D a bit more. 

#2

Porco Rosso

It is surprising to me that number of people who have not seen Rosso. Yes, it is a bit fantasical and has a war theme going for it (a pilot that turned into a pig??? Say what now?), it is still a great movie to watch. Hayao Miyazaki is a great storyteller and he does have the ability to suck you into his plots and characters. His stories tend to move along at a good pace and there is really no reason that you should find yourself bored to tears watching one of his films. Rosso is one of the lesser known films in his collection, but it makes for great watching. Some tout it as violent, but compared to some others on my list, it's rather tame. Which brings me to my #3 pick........

Princess Mononoke

This is one of the first full length anime movies I watched, one of the better known U.S. releases when anime made it over here. I love the pagan theme of this movie, man vs. nature, tick off the God of the Forest and he will hurt you. Yeah you may have thought it was cool to anger the wolf god til you got your arm bitten off. As far as a first long sit-down-and-stay-a-while movie goes, this is a good choice. it's not really a kid's movie, I don't think that they would appreciate too much that the big talking animals are going insane and dying, but adults can get into it and enjoy. It is somewhat violent, but the overall theme of industrialization vs. Mother Nature and Father Sky always makes for a good story. There is some romance, very little between the main characters San and Ashitaka, the rough and tumble girl raised by wolves  and the rather well-mannered, well cultured boy from a nice little village, but as the love affair really doesn't show itself til towards the end, you are left guessing at what happens after. 

Let me get away from Miyazaki for #4...

Metropolis

Now I've read the reviews. I've heard, "Visually brillant, but flawed", "Great animation, poor story, poor script", do you see a there here, babies? Yes, I will agree that Metropolis was poorly done in some aspects, however, it still captures your attention. Robots and humans trying to co-exist in a futuristic technologically forward (for those who can afford it) world, throw in a rather demented duke and his bitter "son", a young boy and his robot female friend who seems to hold a key to the duke's  greater plan, it all sounds great. Being a fan of Tezuka (Buddha, Phoenix, yes even AstroBoy), there is beauty in the flaws. No, the story of Tima, our robotic android, isn't fully explained, but it does make you wonder. You ask yourselves, "What's Duke Red's deal? What's his own story?" Answers don't come easy with Tezuka, but while others believe that to be a flaw, I see it as a whole new world opening up. Fanfiction, anyone?

#5

X/1999

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. One of my first adventures into the CLAMP world and I loved just about every minute of it. X is also an anime TV series and a manga, both of which do happen to delve into the story and characters more, but still I do not believe that any anime fan should pass up on watching X:The Movie. It's a story that questions whether humanity should live or die, 2 groups fighting, one for mankind, the other for earth. You really can't tell the good from the bad except for the two main characters, Kamui and Fuma. Sometimes you're rooting for Kamui and sometimes you'd just wish that Fuma would backslap him. X is one of the few movies that you'll find that can actually transcend the fine lines of anime and cartoon guidelines to where you find yourself doubting your own values. Should we die so that the Earth can live? Wow. I give it to CLAMP. Those ladies are messed up in the head. 

Ok, babies, #6-10 tomorrow. Get at your Chick!