Anime ATTACK

This is the second time I'm writing this post, so it'll suck. Murphy's Law reared its ugly head as I was about to press CTRL T to open a new tab, and instead pressed CTRL R, causing the whole page to reload, and me to lose my entire post. How lovely.

Anyway, there was this very nice and witty opening to this post (which has since gone to hell) which I shall now replace with this:

"Kau ni macam budak-budaklah," said my astute colleague (may peace shine upon his family forever). "Baik kau kahwin cepat." This after we had spent part of Saturday afternoon lifting sofas into the office, and as I was talking to another friend about anime reviews.

Now to the relief of the world, I shall not be discussing marriage in THIS post (I'm saving it for a super bumper edition). I WILL however talk about the decline of western animated features, and why I think Japanese animation (or anime) will be a dominant force in animated entertainment for the next few years. Being a fan of Disney since I was three or so, it is amazingly disheartening to see the studio churn out flop after flop after flop. Where we used to get Beauty and The Beast, we get Brother Bear. Where Aladdin used to soar, we got Atlantis. Pixar seemed to inject new life into the studio, but alas after the enormous success of Monsters Inc and Nemo, both of them have parted. The world needs a touch of spirit in their animated features, and Japan may be the one to provide it, if we can get over the whole anime as cartoon stigma.

I always get riled up when people ask me "You're watching cartoons again?". For most people, they equate anything that's animated with cartoons, hence kiddie entertainment. I don't really blame them, however. The deluge of animated material from Japan in the previous decade has completely swamped our airwaves with quality anime (ElHazard, Sakura Wars) and not so good ones (YuGiOh anyone?). It's a chore separating the wheat from the chaff, but here are some picks I'd like to share that maybe, just maybe will open a whole new dimension to your opinions on cartoons.

Anything by Hayao Miyazaki's Ghibli Studios
By this time you'll have at least heard of Sen to Chihiro Kamikakushi or Spirited Away as it's known elsewhere in the world. The reason why I didn't actually outline a particular title is that Miyazaki's work is generally always very good. Painstakingly hand drawn, his work relies more on the story and message of each work, instead of how many polygonal special CGI effects he's pushing on the screen. Regarded as Japan's answer to Disney, Ghibli has consistently portrayed themes and concepts considered taboo by western animators such as death and destruction as well as greed and anger. There are no toned down scenes for children. Events have consequences, and sometimes they are sad ones. All the more reason to check out some of their work. Highlights include the aforementioned Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Totoro, and Nausicaa.

Otomo Katsuhiro's Memories
Normally I would recommend Akira, but I DO understand that that particular film has been hyped beyond recognition, and thus it's better to start with something that really showcases this director's talent. Memories is a collection of three animated shorts, each written by a different person but brought to life by Katsuhiro's famous style. Think of it as a collection of short stories that are intriguing, heartwarming and more importantly, human. The animation is top notch, but they never take you away from the stories, which are truly at the heart of the films.

Masamune Shirow's Ghost in The Shell
The Matrix owes this one a huge lump of gold. This is cyberpunk at an all time high. The Wachowskis even asked Shirow to contribute to the Animatrix (which I'll be mentioning after this) and if you watch it, you'll be treated to a dazzling display of action and emotion (not to mention some soul searching). As of the time of writing, a 26 episode TV sequel as well as a full length animated feature (which is heading to Cannes) will be available soon.

Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop
Action, comedy, humour and excellent music mark this gem of a collection. Telling the story of intergalactic bounty hunters Spike and Jet (and their merry crew) this series grabs you from the get go and never loses a beat. It's a western, space opera and high comedy all in one. Definitely recommended.

The Animatrix
Released as a build up to the Matrix sequels, this series of 9 shorts showcases some of the best talent to come out of Japan. This would be a great introduction to anime especially if you already liked the Matrix. Watanabe is here (contributed to 2 episodes) as well as some other artists I didn't mention. Even if you hated the sequels (like I did) you'll like this one.

Well, that's all there is to it for today. I hope this starts some of you on a journey of animated fun, and who knows? You may even find there's a lot to like about in these...cartoons. Have a good week!