Anime in Brief I
Cowboy Bebop: the Movie: This one is sort of a western/noir hybrid, even though it's set on Mars. In it a quartet of bounty hunters look for a madman who plans to wipe out life on Mars. There's an actual story that mostly makes sense and interesting, often sympathetic characters. The art and animation look good to my non-expert eyes, and Yoko Kanno's pop/rock soundtrack works better than I would have expected (unfortunately, despite the title, there's no bebop. There's also no "Tank!"). Anime aficionados often declare that the TV series is better than the movie; if that's the case, then it must be one of the best television shows ever broadcast. Four stars. Too violent for youngsters.
Dragon Half: Astoundingly silly. Mink, a half-human, half-dragon girl, has a crush on a singer who is also a dragon hunter. It makes very little sense, but sense is beside the point. Some of the humor is a bit vulgar, and Mink, who doesn't wear much clothing, wears even less by the end. If mindless fun is what you like, here it is. If you love Beethoven, skip the closing music. Three stars.
Ghost in the Shell: This one reminded me of early, noir-ish William Gibson. The main character is a cyborg, wtih a human brain in a human-looking but inhumanly strong "shell," and the central story concerns artificial intelligence developing self-consciousness. There's quite a bit else, including a lot of violence (though not to the Akira extreme). Four stars. Definitely not for kids.
Those Who Hunt Elves: There's a fine line between silly and stupid, and this series is generally on the wrong side. A trio from Japan -- an idiotic martial arts expert, an actress and a little girl skilled with guns -- are stuck in a sword-and-sorcery universe, along with a tank. To get back to their own world, they must find pieces of a spell that appear as tattoos on the bodies of certain female elves. Do the three ask nicely and secure the cooperation of the elves? Of course not. I was surprised when an anime-enthusiast friend handed me these DVDs, and having watched them, I'm still surprised. It's not as prurient as you might expect from the synopsis, and some of it is clever, but I can't recommend it. Two stars.
The Wings of Honneamise: I wish I liked this movie more -- it looks beautiful and the story and characters had potential -- but I can't. It's excruciatingly slow-paced (I ended up fast-forwarding through much of the first 20 minutes, something I almost never do) and painfully earnest. After the first half-hour or so this story of the space program in an imaginary world picks up the pace sufficiently to hold your interest. It remains grimly sincere, though, and ends with a ten-minute exhortation to pray. An attempted rape early in the movie -- by the hero -- doesn't help. Two and a half stars. Not for youngsters.
None of the above are as good as the best of Hayao Miyazaki or yoshitoshi ABe. If you've never seen Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke or Haibane Renmei, watch them before you look at any of the above.
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